The Mind Trust hires Kelli Marshall as Senior Vice President of Schools
Marshall is a highly-respected education leader with deep ties to the Indianapolis education community
INDIANAPOLIS – (March 2, 2021) – The Mind Trust today announced it has hired Kelli Marshall as Senior Vice President of Schools. In this role, Marshall will lead the organization’s efforts to increase the number of Indianapolis students who attend a high-quality school by supporting the launch of new schools, supporting existing schools to maximize their success, and recruiting, retaining, and supporting talented educators. Marshall has almost 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, principal, school founder, and school network leader.
“The Mind Trust is thrilled to add Kelli Marshall to our leadership team,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “Kelli holds an incredibly high bar for what students can achieve, deeply believes in the power of autonomy to create transformative schools, and has the right expertise to ensure that more Indianapolis schools help our students to unlock their full potential.”
As Senior Vice President of Schools, Marshall will lead a team in executing The Mind Trust’s school incubation, school support, and talent strategies that support the growth and ongoing success of high-quality schools for Indianapolis students. The team Marshall will lead manages The Mind Trust’s Charter and Innovation School Fellowships, the organization’s school talent strategy, partnerships with education organizations like Relay Graduate School of Education and Instruction Partners, and other system-level strategies that help ensure every Indianapolis student has access to a high-quality public school.
Marshall began her career as a teacher in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and quickly rose the ranks to become an instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal. She transitioned from IPS to become a school leader in the charter sector where she took Indianapolis Lighthouse Academy from a low-performing school to one that received an A on the state’s accountability system.
Marshall went on to found Tindley Collegiate Academy, the state’s first all-girls charter school. Under Marshall’s leadership, Tindley Collegiate became the highest performing middle school in Indianapolis. Marshall then served as Tindley’s CEO, helping to stabilize the network’s finances and operations. Most recently, she successfully launched a new high school and served as Chief Academic Officer for GEO Academies.
“In order to impact change at scale, you have to be willing to be courageous, collaborative and innovative,” said Kelli Marshall, Senior Vice President of Schools at The Mind Trust. “I’m looking forward to working with a team of individuals at The Mind Trust who are committed to a shared belief that all students are entitled to a quality education and who are willing to put in the work to influence positive change.”
Marshall succeeds Joe White, who joined The Mind Trust in 2016. Over the last five years, White expanded The Mind Trust’s work to support existing schools by creating a first-of-its-kind school support strategy and attracting partnerships from nationally-recognized service providers. He is transitioning to a new real estate firm.
Marshall earned a bachelor’s in elementary education from Indiana University and is a graduate of Butler University’s Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals master’s program.
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About The Mind Trust
The Mind Trust is an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit that works to build a system of schools that gives every student in Indianapolis, no exceptions, access to a high-quality education. The Mind Trust does this by building a supportive environment for schools through policy and community engagement, empowering talented, diverse educators to launch new schools, and providing existing schools with the support they need to hire world-class talent and achieve excellence. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 38 schools, 14 education nonprofit organizations, and has helped place more than 1,600 teachers and school leaders in Indianapolis classrooms. More information can be found at themindtrust.org.