Role: Leadership Team

Alison Washabaugh is the Chief of Staff and Strategy for Uncommon Schools, where she oversees the legal affairs and strategic initiatives teams and focuses on organizational strategy, effectiveness and leadership. Prior to joining Uncommon, Alison spent 10 years at Year Up, a workforce development organization focused on connecting young adults to economic opportunity. She served … Continued

John Powell joined Uncommon in 2018 as Director of Finance while participating in the Broad Residency in Urban Education. During his career in charter school finance, John has led school and home office financial planning and analysis, real estate project financing, debt management and treasury functions. John previously served as an Infantry Officer in the … Continued

Michael Blake is the Chief of Operations for Schools, where he manages K-12 school and regional operations for our Uncommon New York City and Rochester Prep regions in New York.  Previously, Michael served as Managing Director of Operations for New York State, an Associate Chief Operating Officer for Uncommon NYC, and the Director of Operations … Continued

Mary Ann Villanueva is the Chief External Officer for Uncommon Schools, where she oversees development, enrollment, external affairs, marketing and media. Prior to joining Uncommon, Mary Ann spent 19 years in leadership roles within Global Branding at Citi, initially as part of the internal strategy team to unify and transform the brand following the Travelers/Citicorp … Continued

Julie Jackson is the co-Chief Executive Officer of Uncommon Schools, where she oversees all 53 K-12 Uncommon Schools. During her three decades in education, Julie’s strong leadership and commitment to improving public education have earned her several honors including the Teacher of the Year award in 1998, the Dodge Leadership Award in 2002, and Teach … Continued

Priam Dutta is the Chief Operating Officer for Uncommon Schools. Before joining Uncommon, Priam was a Chief Strategy Officer with Attuned Education Partners. Prior to that, Priam spent 10 years working in Achievement First’s middle schools in Brooklyn as a math teacher, dean, and then founding principal. He joined Achievement First from McKinsey & Company, … Continued

Juliana Worrell is the Chief Schools Officer K-8 for Uncommon Schools. Previously, Juliana served as an assistant superintendent, managing 14 of Uncommon’s North Star and Brooklyn elementary schools. Under Juliana’s leadership, her schools have consistently outperformed end-of-year state exam averages, with nearly all outperforming their respective states’ highest performing subgroups. Juliana is co-author of the … Continued

Prior to becoming CEO of Uncommon Schools in 2012, Brett Peiser served as founding Managing Director of Uncommon Schools NYC, starting and managing Uncommon’s K-12 schools in Brooklyn. Brett is the Founder and former Principal and Executive Director of Boston Collegiate Charter School, a former history teacher at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, and a … Continued