Marshall Leadership Institute

Transformational Leaders for All Schools

Marshall Leadership Institute is a different type of school leadership organization. Through customized pipeline development and individual leadership coaching, we partner with school communities to nurture transformational leaders who lead with authenticity and harness powerful leadership skills to drive change within their school systems. Today, Marshall Leadership Institute serves over 200 leaders nationwide, partnering with more than 35 schools across five states. Sixty percent of Marshall leaders represent the global majority, and 85 percent of aspiring leaders are in school leadership roles within three years. Notably, 98 percent of Marshall Leadership Institute alumni still work in education. All of our offerings are designed specifically to produce outcomes like these: diverse cohorts of leaders who are equipped to rise into new roles quickly and effectively.

Join us in building a bright future for schools nationwide.

Unlocking the Potential of Leaders

Greg Ponikvar

Founder, Marshall Leadership Institute

“Every student deserves a powerful teacher, and every teacher deserves a transformational leader. Our programs unlock the potential of leaders to show up in their roles more authentically, build collaborative teams, and make their schools even better with, and for, the young people they serve.”

Marshall Leaders Make Schools Better

  • Akiya Minniefield

    Akiya was a science teacher when she joined the Marshall Emerging Leaders cohort, seeking new ways to inspire the students she served. After completing the cohort, Akiya became an Assistant Principal at Rocky Mountain Prep Montebello (formerly STRIVE Prep Montebello) in Denver, was named a 2022-23 Rising Leader within the STRIVE Prep network, and was accepted into STRIVE Prep’s Principal Fellowship program.
  • Shalea Semana

    Shalea taught for more than eight years in East Oakland, California before moving to Washington to accept a role as an Assistant Principal at Impact Public Schools. Shalea joined the Marshall New Leader cohort to improve and grow her practice as a new leader. Shalea most valued the community of like-minded educators she found through Marshall Leadership Institute; educators who were committed to making their schools better and making a real impact for young people.
  • David Tellez

    During David’s time as Dean of Culture and Instruction, he developed a passion for supporting teachers to build truly inclusive classrooms. David joined the Marshall Aspiring Principal cohort to develop the skills needed to foster a school’s culture, instructional vision, and operational structures. David is now the Assistant Principal at Alpha Public Schools in California.
  • Melissa Petty

    Melissa is the principal at Lumen High School in Spokane, Washington. An experienced school counselor and educator, she was drawn to lead at Lumen because of its unique mission to provide wraparound services to meet the layered needs of teen parents. Her work as the principal touches every part of the school, and she credits her time in the Marshall System Leaders cohort for providing her much needed tools, strategies, and support as she builds a school system that supports her students and faculty.

Explore Our Offerings

Launched by and for school leaders, Marshall Leadership Institute helps unlock the teacher-to-school leader pipeline for public charter school communities across the United States.

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    Pipeline Development

    Ready to build a sustainable leadership pipeline that cultivates powerful school leadership from within your community? Marshall Leadership Institute partners with school communities to build a pipeline of transformational leaders from your community.

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    Cohort-Based Leadership Development

    Looking for individual support for your schools’ current leaders? Marshall Leadership Institute offers cohort-based learning to accelerate the development of authentic and powerful leadership skills within your current leaders.

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    Personalized Coaching

    Facing a challenge and looking for responsive support from an experienced coach? Marshall Leadership Institute offers one-on-one personalized coaching to help leaders tackle the daily challenges of running a school.

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