Nancy Scharff is a seasoned education non-profit leader and consultant, with 13 years of experience as an investment banker. Before earning her MBA from UCLA, she spent five years as an elementary classroom teacher. Today, she draws on her expertise in structured literacy and strategy development as a consultant to Philadelphia’s Read by 4th campaign, a collective impact campaign whose mission is to strengthen every child’s right to read.
After her career on Wall Street, Nancy led the New York-based education non-profit Urban Education Exchange (now ReadWorks). To deepen her knowledge and experience with the evolving reading research, she returned to the classroom through a residency-based Masters of Special Education program at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. The Saint Joseph’s program was among the first university programs to be accredited by the International Dyslexia Association as meeting the Knowledge and Practice Standards (K&PS) for Teachers of Reading – standards that are now incorporated into PDE’s Chapter 49 teacher preparation requirements. She also became Wilson Level I certified.
In addition to her work with Read by 4th, Nancy served as a board member (2014-2020) of KIPP Philadelphia Schools, and she remains a member of its Academic Committee.
