Partners expands its senior leadership team: Two women of color named as chiefs

Partners in School Innovation has created two new roles on the organization’s senior leadership team and promoted two seasoned educators – Eddie Scruggs Smith and Sanee Nashashibi – to fill the positions. Ms. Scruggs Smith has been named as our new Chief of Program Implementation, and Ms. Nashashibi is now the Chief of Program Innovation.

Eddie came to Partners with more than 20 years of experience as a principal, instructional leader, and coach. She earned her B.A. in American multicultural studies at CSU Sonoma, a master’s degree in elementary education at the University of Phoenix, and an M.A. in education at UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute.

Among the many reasons for Eddie’s promotion are the respect and trust she enjoys from the people who work alongside her. “She believes in every individual's potential for growth and provides coaching and support for team members to lead with an antiracist lens internally and externally,” said one peer. “Eddie is able to find the right balance between supportive and pushing so that people can be in their zone of proximal development.”

Upon being promoted, Eddie reacted with characteristic humility. She stated,

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to serve as the Chief of Program Implementation, working collectively with my incredible colleagues, who continuously provide powerful partnerships with educators that will ensure students have the ability to be academically and socially successful.”

Sanee also brings a great deal of valuable experience to her new role. After spending seven years as a teacher of elementary and middle school and as an instructional coach, Ms. Nashashibi joined Partners, where she has spent 11 years coaching educators and designing new ways for the organization to support our school and district partners. Sanee has a B.A. in psychology and social welfare and two master’s degrees – one in education, and one in educational leadership and administration.

Her colleagues admire her dedication to educational equity, with one peer offering this assessment:

“What I love most about how Sanee works towards equity is that she constantly brings new ideas and inspiration from articles, books, videos, life experiences, etc. and then she doesn't just share those things. She shares transparently about how she is grappling with or exploring the concepts and figuring out how to put them into practice. It's not hard to see her commitment to working for equity and the wisdom she brings to that. But what is even more inspiring to me and more rare is how she invites others into her ongoing learning journey with vulnerability and humility.”

It’s not surprising that Sanee reacted to her promotion by speaking of her commitment to the students Partners was created to serve. She had this to say:

“Each and every black and brown student in our country can thrive – I believe this at my core. That belief, coupled with evidence that our approach to partnering with school and district leaders to transform teaching and learning is highly impactful, is why I remain committed to Partners in School Innovation. I'm thrilled to take on this new role, working side by side with incredibly thoughtful colleagues who share a deep dedication to educational equity. Together, we’re continuously refining and innovating around what we know works while striving to partner with and connect more educators nationwide. A key question in our design work is, what do educators truly need to serve their students better, and how can we support them in ways that bring more ease, customization, and community to their journey?

Will you share what you think is needed, or do you want to know more? Our Research and Design team would love to connect and learn from your perspective. Please reach out to me at snashashibi@partnersinschools.org.”

Eddie and Sanee will bring a wealth of knowledge, talent, and dedication to their new roles, and the organization will benefit greatly from the even broader impact they will have!