Schools That Lead is a dedicated team of education professionals that support educational leaders through the principles of improvement science, aimed at enhancing student learning. Our team is comprised of former teachers, school and district administrators, and non-profit leaders that share the mission of teacher empowerment in the classroom and promoting equitable education in America’s schools.
Our mission is to equip teachers to lead using the tools of improvement science to transform how schools improve from the classroom up, centering student voice, leveraging new data in new ways, and creating schools that work for the people inside them.
We believe there is no end to the good children can do when they are holistically well. Our schools must become responsive to the needs of all learners—adults and children, thus we work to accelerate collective transformation of our schools. At the foundation of this work is a commitment to develop these core conditions:
Model an improvement stance, seeking to learn from experiences that have measures.
Place confidence in others to lead and to follow and to engage in the work of schools in deep collaboration.
See problems and opportunities from the users’ frames; appreciate others’ points of view, seek to convert empathy to compassion.
Recognize professional knowledge and skill letting those closest to the work of students to guide classroom and schoolwide improvement.
Recognize the worth of each person in your improvement sphere.
Bend to adapt to the needs of the user; leave space for improvement to proceed at different paces; provide options for onboarding.
Dana C. Diesel
President and CEO
Dana is President and CEO of Schools That Lead, Inc. She also teaches courses at Wilmington University on the use of improvement science in schools to students pursuing their doctorates in educational leadership. Previously Dana led school development efforts at a state-wide education non-profit in North Carolina and worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, central services director, and superintendent in states throughout the country. Dana has an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University, a master's from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's from Old Dominion University.
TAQWANDA HAILEY
Chief Analytics Officer
Taqwanda is the Chief Analytics Officer for Schools That Lead. With a Bachelor of Science in physics from North Carolina Central University, she has taught both secondary school and community college courses. In addition, she earned an MBA, and MS Accounting and Information Systems from Strayer University. Sponsored by the NC ACCESS Program and North Carolina Office of Charter Schools, Taqwanda completed the requirements of the Educational Equity Aspiring Minority School Leaders Program and earned a graduate certificate in School Leadership from Appalachian State University. Before joining STL, Taqwanda served as the Assistant Head of School of a secondary charter school in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is her belief that teacher empowerment is the key to positive student outcomes and she is committed to ensuring all students have access to an equitable education.
Eliz Colbert
Chief Learning Officer
Dr. Eliz Colbert is the Chief Learning Officer at Schools That Lead, Inc., bringing over two decades of experience in North Carolina public schools. Her career spans roles from teacher assistant to executive director, with ten years as a classroom teacher and twelve years as a school administrator. Eliz has also dedicated six years to leading professional learning initiatives at both state and local levels.
Joining NC Virtual Public School in 2013, Dr. Colbert retired as Executive Director in 2023, where she championed the creation of a personalized learning environment for each student and each teacher. Dr. Colbert’s commitment to fostering a supportive and dynamic educational environment continues to drive her work at Schools That Lead.
Eliz has an EdD from Columbia University and a Masters and Bachelor of Arts degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Catherine Edmonds, Ed.D., an established leader in public and higher education, serves as interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, her alma mater. She assumed the role on July 1, 2025.
As the university’s chief academic officer, Edmonds oversees academic and student success operations across 22 units, including N.C. A&T’s 11 colleges and schools, supporting the institution’s land-grant mission and continued status as the nation’s largest historically Black university.
Edmonds brings more than 30 years of experience in North Carolina’s public education system, including a decade of leadership across the University of North Carolina System and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. She previously served as interim chancellor of Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), where she led the university to record enrollment gains, including its largest entering and transfer classes in more than a decade.
Prior to ECSU, Edmonds served as chief of staff at North Carolina Central University, where she advised and supported the chancellor on strategic initiatives, managed daily operations for the Office of the Chancellor and represented the institution in key leadership forums. She also served as deputy state superintendent at the Department of Public Instruction, where she spearheaded statewide efforts to advance educational equity, inclusion and student achievement across North Carolina’s K-12 system.
Her career also includes roles as superintendent of Bertie County Schools and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, director of Educational Leadership and Development for the UNC System, and executive coach with NC State University’s Northeast Leadership Academy.
Dana is President and CEO of Schools That Lead, Inc. She also teaches courses at Wilmington University on the use of improvement science in schools to students pursuing their doctorates in educational leadership. Previously Dana led school development efforts at a state-wide education non-profit in North Carolina and worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, central services director, and superintendent in states throughout the country. Dana has an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University, a master's from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's from Old Dominion University.
Hon. Craig Horn, (R) was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing Union County. He assumed office in 2011 and was assigned to the following committees: Education- K-12 Committee, NC House of Representatives, (Chair); Appropriations on Education Committee, NC House of Representatives, (Chair); and Appropriations Committee, NC House of Representatives (Vice Chair). Craig’s professional experience includes working as a food broker before his political career. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 1969 as a Russian language linguist. He has been affiliated with the International Churchill Society, Southern Regional Education Board and National Conference of State Legislatures. Since 2021, he has served as mayor of Weddington, NC.
Dr. Eliz Colbert is the Chief Learning Officer at Schools That Lead, Inc., bringing over two decades of experience in North Carolina public schools. Her career spans roles from teacher assistant to executive director, with ten years as a classroom teacher and twelve years as a school administrator. Eliz has also dedicated six years to leading professional learning initiatives at both state and local levels.
Joining NC Virtual Public School in 2013, Dr. Colbert retired as Executive Director in 2023, where she championed the creation of a personalized learning environment for each student and each teacher. Dr. Colbert’s commitment to fostering a supportive and dynamic educational environment continues to drive her work at Schools That Lead.
Eliz has an EdD from Columbia University and a Masters and Bachelor of Arts degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Myung is the Director of Policy Research at PACE, Policy Analysis for California Education, an independent and non-partisan research center. She was the Managing Director of the research project Getting Down to Facts II: Current Conditions and Paths Forward for California Schools. Previously a Program Director at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, her work focused on launching and developing Networked Improvement Communities focused on improving student academic experiences and outcomes. She completed her PhD in Administration and Policy Analysis at Stanford University and her Bachelor's degree in Political Science at Yale University.
Kae Keister served for 33 years in public education as a preschool and middle-level math teacher as well as an elementary and middle level administrator in Delaware. She is now an Associate Professor at Wilmington University in the College of Education, where she teaches in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. She graduated from Pfeiffer College, Salisbury State University and Nova University, and is a native Delawarean.
Dr. Kilgore was appointed Superintendent of Newport News Public Schools, Virginia in May 2007 -- the first woman ever to lead the 29,000-student school division. An early leader in youth development, Dr. Kilgore established a comprehensive district-wide youth development initiative to assist students in growing their skills in leadership, citizenship and teamwork. Service learning is now part of the curriculum in NNPS She has over 35 years of experience in public education as a teacher, principal, college professor and deputy superintendent.
Paul G. LeMahieu is senior advisor to the president at the Carnegie Foundation and graduate faculty in the College of Education, University of Hawai‘i – Mānoa. Previously at Carnegie, he served as senior vice president and directed the work of the Carnegie Hub, which supports the networks the Foundation convenes to engage problems of education practice in the field. LeMahieu came to Carnegie from the National Writing Project (NWP) at the University of California, Berkeley where he was director of research and evaluation. He has also served as superintendent of education for the state of Hawaiʻi, the only state in the nation that is a single unitary school district with operating and capital budgets totaling over $1.8 billion. Paul’s current professional interests focus on the adaptation of improvement science methodologies for application in networks in education. He is a co-author of the book Learning to Improve: How America’s Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better (2015), and lead author of the volume Working to improve: Seven approaches to quality improvement in education (2017).
Amber is the Director of Outreach and Support at North Carolina Virtual Public School. She provides leadership for communications, support, and outreach to NC schools and districts. Her background includes over 17 years of higher education teaching and administrator experience in computer science, instructional technology, online learning and program development in her roles as computer programming head, educational technology director and distance learning director. She also has extensive experience in marketing and brand identity. She is a proud ECU Pirate, and holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology, and a bachelor’s in Information Technology & Business Education. Her passion is online education and equity of access for all students.
Dr. Graf has worked in the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina for 14 years. She taught in the primary grades at Holly Springs and Lincoln Heights Elementary. She completed her administrative internship at Ballentine Elementary in Fuquay Varina. Dr. Graf served as the Assistant Principal of East Garner Elementary from July 2007 to August of 2010 when she became the Assistant Principal at Timber Drive Elementary. In 2011 Dr. Graf was named the Principal of Banks Road Elementary in Fuquay Varina where she served for over three and a half years until March of 2014 when she called back to serve at East Garner Elementary as Principal. Dr. Graf graduated earned her doctorate in education leadership from Vanderbilt University in 2021.
Ayeola is a Project Director at CPRL. She provides research, organizational strategy and development, and philanthropic advising services to non-profit organizations and foundations. At CPRL, she has developed strategic plans and measurement frameworks, designed and conducted a formative evaluation of improvement networks, and facilitated trainings on Evolutionary Learning. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ayeola served as a Senior Program Officer at the Wallace Foundation focused on school and district leadership and was the founding director of the 100Kin10 Funders Collaborative where she supported the strategic philanthropy of more than 34 national, regional, and corporate funders. Ayeola has a BA from Duke University and an MS from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
