NTC is pleased to announce the appointment of renowned national education leader, Dr. Sharon L. Contreras to its board of directors. She is the chief executive officer at The Innovation Project, a statewide organization dedicated to convening forward-thinking North Carolina school district superintendents to find and implement innovative and transformative practices.

The NTC eight-member board, co-chaired by New Profit Managing Partner Shruti Sehra and Northwestern University’s Center for Education Efficacy, Excellence, and Equity Director Paul Goren, supports the organization with expertise in pedagogy, curriculum, finance, education philanthropy, academia, and district leadership. “I am excited to partner with a leader who brings a wealth of experience and shared lived experience of the students we are aiming to serve at New Teacher Center,” said CEO Tommy Chang. “Dr. Contreras will help NTC advance our mission to cultivate science-proven and relationship-centered working and learning conditions for teachers and systemically underserved students.”

Dr. Sharon Contreras has held two superintendencies – one metropolitan district and one in a county-wide district serving urban, suburban, and rural students. Sharon is celebrated for implementing policies to close achievement gaps and improve student life outcomes. While at Guilford County Schools (GCS), she helped decrease the graduation rate gap and vastly expanded career technical education and advanced placement programs, as well as access to dual enrollment programming to prepare students and their parents for the workforce. The district’s high-dosage tutoring initiative and high-school learning hubs, developed during the pandemic, are considered a national model for addressing unfinished learning. In 2022, GCS’s graduation rate increased to 91.8%, its highest ever. Contreras was named Superintendent of the Year by the North Carolina PTA (2019), was among Triad Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs in 2020, and is the 2022 AASA Women in School Leadership Award recipient. She was named to the Business North Carolina Power List 2022, a collective report of the state’s most influential leaders. Sharon’s current leadership at The Innovation Project oversees a collaborative of 18 school districts across the state committed to high academic achievement, equity, and innovation.

“I am thrilled to welcome Sharon to our Board of Directors,” said Board Co-Chair Shruti Sehra. “Her unique leadership skills will help NTC strengthen our financial strategies, refine our program vision and play a critical role in our strategic planning. Together with our dedicated leadership and staff, this new board member will contribute significantly to NTC’s mission of expanding our impact in supporting teachers, and create a transformative learning experience for students nationwide.”