Leslie Fenwick

Member of the Board of Directors

Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick is the newly appointed dean of the Howard University School of Education and a professor of education policy. She has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, public policy, philanthropy, and urban PK-12 schools. Fenwick held successive appointments at Harvard University as a Visiting Scholar in Education and a Visiting Fellow from 1999-2003. Her published research focuses on education policy (particularly as it relates to race equity), the principalship, and the value of using school reform as a lever for community revitalization and neighborhood rebuilding. Leslie is a contributing author to the recently released book, The Last Word: Controversy and Commentary in American Education, which boasts selections from former President Bill Clinton, noted historian John Hope Franklin, and esteemed educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Howard Gardner among others. In January 2009, Fenwick appeared on C-SPAN television as an invited panelist to discuss solutions to the nation’s education challenges. A former elementary and junior high school teacher, principal, and legislative aide on school reform for the State of Ohio Senate, Fenwick earned the BS degree in education from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and the PhD in educational policy and leadership from The Ohio State University.