As National Director of Regional Program Implementation & Innovation Nicole will oversee and strengthen our core Teach Plus programs while establishing conditions for innovations to enable regions to advance their Inquiry and Implementation work. Dr. Hughes will work cross-functionally and support teams to improve program design or program tools, perfect implementation, set and track progress toward meaningful programmatic goals, and scale/adapt innovations where possible.
Prior to joining Teach Plus, Nicole (she/her) served as the Campus Principal of Buchtel Community Learning Center, leading the turnaround efforts and implementing the College Career Academies of Akron. In Akron, Nicole earned the Ohio Association of Black School Educators’ Leadership Excellence award. She previously worked as the Headmistress of Pine Forge Academy, serving as the CEO of the historically Black boarding school. In 2010, Nicole founded a charter high school in Trenton, New Jersey, where 100% of the graduating classes earned acceptance to two and four-year colleges. She began her career as a New York City Teaching Fellow teaching history at Frederick Douglass Academy in Brooklyn, New York. Nicole earned two congressional citations for excellence in teaching while working in Brooklyn, New York.
Dr. Nicole Hughes graduated from Yale University with a BA in history. She earned an MST from Pace University, an EdM from Teachers College, Columbia University and an Ed.D from Kent State University. Dr. Hughes derives her greatest joy from spending time with her family – her husband, Casey, and their three children.
