Mary Nash-Wood stepped across the commencement stage to receive a Master’s in Management Studies from Yale School of Management (SOM) – part of a new education leadership program run by The Broad Center (TBC) at SOM recognizing and developing emerging talent in the nation’s largest public education systems.
Nash-Wood, who has worked at Caddo Parish Public Schools for nine years, is one of 30 graduates of the inaugural cohort of the Master’s in Public Education Management at TBC at SOM. The Master’s program is designed for early- to mid-career urban school system leaders with extraordinary potential to accelerate their impact. The tuition-free, 14-month program brings together small cohorts of students working in large K-12 school systems – including school districts, charter management organizations, and state education agencies – guiding them as they consider persistent challenges in public education and work to make a greater difference for students and communities.
“Mary has taken a distinctly nontraditional path in her work to address students’ access to a high-quality education beginning as a journalist covering education before becoming one of the youngest Central Office administrators in our district’s history,” said Dr. T. Lamar Goree, Superintendent of Caddo Schools. “The focus of her work has been a passion for giving every student the belief in themselves coupled with the resources they need to pursue whatever they desire. When she came to me about this opportunity more than two years ago, I knew it would be a challenging selection process before even getting to the content of the classes. She was able to shine and has continued a full workload while also joining one of the most rewarding networks available in the education field.”
At Caddo Schools, Nash-Wood leads the district’s strategic work, focusing on projects and initiatives in alignment with the school system’s mission and vision – work she was able to examine more deeply as part of the Master’s program at TBC at Yale SOM. The Master’s program exposes students to rigorous thinking and scholarship on management and leadership practices at Yale SOM, along with connections to education practitioners from across the country and deep connections with their fellow students.
“To learn from the professors at Yale School of Management who are experts in their fields and among the most esteemed and revered professors in the university was a life-changing experience, but what was equally profound was the learning from my peers – individuals who are working tirelessly to serve students across the country to make a lasting impact on public education,” Nash-Wood said. “I am forever grateful for this challenging and rewarding time to dig deeply into how to better support students and families to have the best educational opportunities available for every child.”