Leadership
We believe that all students will learn and achieve at high levels if given the opportunity.
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Sehba AliChief Executive Officer
Sehba Ali is the former Superintendent of KIPP Houston Public Schools. In 2004, she founded KIPP Heartwood Academy middle school in San Jose, CA, which has consistently been rated one of the highest-performing middle schools in California. Prior to taking the helm at KIPP Houston, Sehba served as Chief Academic Officer for KIPP Bay Area Schools. She began her career as a middle school English teacher in Houston, Texas with Teach For America. Sehba earned her B.A. from UC Berkeley and her Masters from Stanford University. She was a Pahara-Aspen fellow and completed the Broad Academy for Superintendents. She currently mentors two KIPP EDs and serves on the Connect Community and The Post Oak School boards.
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Vanessa BarryChief Marketing and Engagement Officer
Vanessa Segovia Barry believes every student deserves a high-quality education. Her dedication to educational equity starts with her own story: her mother became the first person in the family to attain a college degree, which changed her life and was a life-changer for her children and grandchildren as well. A Houston native, Vanessa was raised in the Rio Grande Valley and has lived in all four KIPP Texas regions. While running marketing, communications, creative services, enrollment, and events at IDEA Public Schools, she helped the network grow from 16 to 120 schools, while exceeding student enrollment goals and transforming its brand identity. She also founded a family-focused magazine reaching nearly 100,000 readers, commissioned a software platform to maximize enrollment, and produced large-scale events attended by thousands. Vanessa lives in the San Antonio area with her husband and their two children.
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Daphane CarterChief Academic Officer and State Superintendent
Daphane Carter is formerly the Chief Academic Officer for KIPP Houston Public Schools. She worked as a classroom teacher and principal in the Houston Independent School District before joining the KIPP family as Head of Schools for KIPP Houston in 2010. She also serves as a leadership coach for educators throughout the national KIPP network. Daphane received her undergraduate degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Georgia and her MS in Organic Chemistry from Texas A&M University. She also received her MS Ed from the University of Houston at Victoria.
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Kris CheungChief Operating Officer
Kris Cheung joins KIPP Texas from Success Academy Charter School in New York, where he was the Chief Operations Officer overseeing operations at the network office and for all 46 schools. Prior to his appointment to Chief Operations Officer in 2015, Kris was a business operations manager, associate director of operations, head of renovations and facilities, and managing director of operations. He was responsible for strategic school expansion, scholar projections, supply chain, procurement, school performance analytics, operating budgets, real estate, facilities, and construction. Kris began his professional career in the hospitality industry, where he held operational leadership roles with Hyatt and Waldorf Astoria. Kris holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from California State University, Pomona and a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Rutgers University.
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Larry GuilloryChief People and Communications Officer
In direct support of the Chief Executive Officer, Larry serves a key role in building and managing the newly created KIPP Texas Public Schools while promoting the academic, character, and life success of KIPP students (KIPPSTERS). Larry is a founding member of the leadership team of KIPP Texas Public Schools and is helping to lead the first-ever integration of KIPP regional organizations (KIPP Austin, KIPP Dallas-Fort Worth, KIPP Houston, and KIPP San Antonio). This integration, encompasses 50+ schools which are serving 25,000 students across Texas.
In the CPO role, Larry is instrumental in pioneering approaches to charter school integration, talent management, HR service delivery, professional development, and teacher recruitment at scale. Larry also is responsible for school and regional talent and human resources functions including benefits, payroll, school leader and teacher talent branding, hiring, training, development, retention, and remote workforce practices.
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Jaideep HebbarChief Strategy & Financial Officer
Jaideep Hebbar joined KIPP Houston Public Schools as Chief Financial Officer in September 2017. Prior to joining KIPP, Jaideep served as an Investment Principal at the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF). He also spent 10 years at Merrill Lynch and founded North Cove Partners, a private equity firm. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of four companies and one charter school organization. He also taught adult literacy classes in urban Philadelphia, New York City, and Stamford, CT for over 15 years. Jaideep earned a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and is an Education Pioneers alumnus.
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Ann ScottChief Development Officer
Ann Scott joined KIPP Texas as Chief Development Officer in October 2019 , where she raises funds to support strategic initiatives. As an advocate of educational opportunity and equity for all students, Scott works to ensure all children can have access to an education that prepares them for success in life.
Upon graduating from Oakwood College, Ann joined Teach For America and taught at White Elementary School in the HISD for four years. Ann subsequently joined the staff of Teach For America and led the region to double its presence in Houston and improve teacher impact on student outcomes. She has also worked as the Chief Human Resources Officer for HISD. Striving to improve the teacher evaluation process, Ann led the district’s teacher effectiveness efforts including the design and implementation of an improved teacher appraisal and development system that would hold teachers accountable to student achievement as part of their evaluation. Ann had the privilege of returning to Teach For America to manage and develop alumni leadership initiatives. In this role, she pioneered the development of a fellowship for experienced alumni to transition into leadership roles in districts across the country.
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Cicely TaylorChief of Staff
As Chief of Staff for KIPP Texas, Cicely’s primary focus is paving a path towards organizational efficiency, engagement, and effectiveness in service to the CEO’s office, Executive staff, and all KIPPsters Big and Little. Cicely has over 25 years of experience in the education and non-profit space. Her educator’s heart is grounded in her experiences as a classroom teacher, starting with Teach For America and later in the field of early childhood education. She began her career as a Big KIPPster 15+ years ago and has served in many capacities. Cicely’s professional approach centers around being an organizational linchpin, driving cross-functional work towards the highest bar of excellence. Beyond that of a Big KIPPster, her greatest and most important role is mom to Steven and Summer.
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Dan CaesarHouston Regional Superintendent
Dan Caesar has over 20 years of experience with KIPP; he began in 1997 as a sixth-grade math teacher at KIPP Academy Houston. Dan was a Fisher Fellow in 2000 and founded the second KIPP School in Houston, KIPP 3D Academy, in 2001. Dan led KIPP 3D to become one of the top-rated middle schools in the city. In 2010, Dan became Head of Schools for KIPP Houston, and has since overseen exponential growth. He holds a BA from Tufts University, an MBA from Rice University, and has been selected for the 2017-18 cohort of the Leverage Leadership Institute with the Relay Graduate School of Education.
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Justin ScottAustin Regional Superintendent
As Superintendent of KIPP Texas – Austin, Justin Scott’s main focus is to ensure children from educationally under-resourced communities in the Austin area have access to great schools. Mr. Scott has worked for more than 20 years in education as an elementary school educator, Peace Corps volunteer (Uzbekistan 2000-2001), Founding principal for KIPP Austin Comunidad (elementary), and as Heads of Schools managing middle and high schools at KIPP Austin. This is his 11th year serving at KIPP Austin. He is a proud Latino leader and the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Santa Clara University, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin. Justin’s most important role is as a father to two young children (Simone and Georgia) and as a partner to his wife, Kelly.
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Dr. Anthony SmithDallas-Fort Worth Regional Superintendent
Anthony Smith, EdD comes to KIPP Texas Public Schools-Dallas-Fort Worth from Denver Public Schools (DPS) where he served as a Regional Instructional Superintendent and Network Instructional Superintendent. Throughout his nearly 17 year career with DPS he provided leadership and direction at all levels as a teacher, principal, executive director, and instructional superintendent. A champion of equity through education, Dr. Smith worked to lead dramatic improvement efforts at the school and district levels.
Dr. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adams State University and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership and Administration as well as a Master of Education in Elementary Education and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver, and the University of Phoenix. He received his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Denver.
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Allen SmithSan Antonio Regional Superintendent
Allen Smith comes to KIPP Texas Public Schools with more than 20 years as a leader in education. He is nationally recognized for his work improving chronically low-performing schools and has a track-record of successfully mentoring instructional leaders. Allen is a Denver native and former Denver Public Schools (DPS) principal who most recently led the Culture Equity and Leadership Team (CELT) at DPS since 2016. He also served for three years as executive director of the Denver Summit Schools Network. He then joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina as a community superintendent before heading to California to serve as Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Schools for Oakland Unified School District. Allen is a graduate of Harvard’s Urban Principal Institute, Public Education Leadership Program and Urban Superintendent Program.