Kristen McCaw is a mission-driven leader who partners with organizations to launch transformative initiatives, strengthen systems, and secure the resources needed to thrive. She has worked with major K–12 charter management organizations, nonprofits, foundations, universities, and national networks to develop strategic plans, design new programs, and achieve ambitious growth and fundraising goals. Her work has included building a national hub for apprenticeship degree efforts, supporting the launch of programs across the country, and convening higher education leaders at the University of Oxford to advance the apprenticeship degree model.

Kristen co-founded Seminar, the largest national community for charter school leaders, offering thousands of leaders unprecedented access to resources and professional learning opportunities. She also co-founded and served as CFO/COO of Impact Public Schools, the largest and highest-performing charter management organization in Washington State. At Impact, she oversaw finance, operations, talent, human resources, data, and technology, contributing to the organization’s growth to more than 1,200 students, top-tier academic results, and over $40M in philanthropy, equity, and low-interest loans, along with securing three long-term facilities.

Previously, Kristen served as COO/Chief Diversity Officer for Summit Public Schools, a network of 10 schools in two states, where she supported out-of-state expansion, the launch of five schools, and led seven approval and renewal processes in two states. She also wrote Summit’s successful $10M XQ SuperSchool grant. At the California Charter Schools Association, she coached teams to successfully launch 24 schools with diverse models, wrote and reviewed charter and grant applications, and developed numerous project management, greenlighting, and facilities identification tools.

Kristen is a Pahara Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She holds a degree in Politics from New York University and an MPA from the University of Southern California. Outside of work, she loves to cook, grow vegetables, and paddle or kayak in the Puget Sound.