Culver City Unified School District competitors

I am an advocate for and steward of women- and minority-owned business. I believe in the power of art to impact a community. Throughout my career, I have emphasized diplomacy, efficiency and facilitation of relationships.In 1991, I built Dayton radio station WROU from the ground-up before purchasing a second station three years later - in the process, becoming one of fewer than 10 African-American woman in the nation to build and own a broadcasting property. I received national accolades for my entrepreneurial success and community service efforts before selling my stations and stepping into the role of CEO of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in 2005.As CEO of DCDC, I have focused on forging new partnerships with area colleges and universities, capitalizing on new revenue streams and building a board of directors coming from diverse ethnic backgrounds and professional expertise from art and education to human resources, law, finance and medicine.

Susan Schaeffler is the founder and chief executive officer of KIPP DC. She oversees all school leadership and academic programming, and plays a direct role in supervising the performance of students, staff, and the KIPP Through College & Career program. As an inaugural Fisher Fellow, Susan founded KIPP DC KEY Academy in 2001 and has since guided KIPP DC’s growth into the highest performing PreK3-12 school system in Washington, D.C. with eighteen schools educating 6,800 students. Prior to founding KIPP DC, Susan spent nine years in the classroom, first as a Teach For America corps member in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned Teacher of the Year honors. In addition, Susan spent a year in rural Ethiopia working with the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help to train 180 new teachers at the Teacher Training Institute. Susan earned her bachelor’s in human development and family studies from Colorado State University and master’s in instructional systems design from the University of Maryland. Under her leadership, KIPP DC was a Race to the Top District grant recipient, and have won national distinctions such as the Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon School Award and the National Title One Distinguished School Award.