Nancy Gutiérrez

Dr. Nancy B. Gutiérrez is the President & Lead Executive Officer of The Leadership Academy, a nationally recognized nonprofit that envisions a future where every school creates limitless possibilities for every student. Harnessing leadership as a lever for change, the organization partners with education leaders through professional learning and coaching to transform schools and accelerate learning for every student. Under Nancy’s leadership, The Leadership Academy has supported educators in 41 states and more than 430 school systems in building the leadership capacity needed to create lasting change. A proud daughter of East San Jose, CA, Nancy began her career as a teacher and principal in her home community, founding Renaissance Academy, a California Distinguished School, and leading the turnaround of the district’s lowest-performing middle school—just blocks from her childhood home, where her mother and family still live today. Nancy has been nationally recognized for her impact, including being named California Middle Grades Principal of the Year (2010), one of City & State’s 100 Most Influential Education Leaders in New York (2020), a Distinguished Alumna by San Jose State University (2023), and the 2025 Innovator of Color Award recipient at ASU-GSV. She is Board Chair of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and serves on the boards of The Hunt Institute, brightbeam, and The Neurodiversity Alliance. She earned her Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a 2019 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow. A former adjunct professor at NYU and current faculty member at Teachers College, Columbia University, Nancy has also served as an expert guest at the Harvard Principals’ Center. Her thought leadership has been featured in Education Week, Kappan, The74, and Hechinger Report. Nancy is the co-author of Stay and Prevail (2023), which highlights the stories of leaders who return to and invest in their home communities, and Coaching Education Leaders (2024), which features The Leadership Academy’s groundbreaking expertise and coaching model, built on more than 20 years of impact in developing transformational school and system leaders.