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President, KIPP Public Schools

Kinnari Patel-Smyth is thePresident at KIPP Foundation. Previously, she was the Executive Director of KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools. Under her leadership, the KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools high school has achieved a 92% college acceptance rate. Kinnari will be leading KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools' growth in the coming years as it doubles in size to educate more than 7,000 K-12 students and prepare them for college and a choice-filled life. Kinnari joined the KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools team in 2012 as the chief academic officer and served in that role for two years before being named executive director. Prior to joining KIPP, Kinnari served in a number of roles at the Explore Schools Network in Brooklyn. While at Explore Schools, she was selected to participate in the national New Leaders for New Schools principal preparation program, served as the principal of Explore Charter School for five years, and was the managing director of schools responsible for managing three schools and overseeing the principal residency program. Kinnari began her career as an elementary school teacher in Atlanta and Fort Worth, driven by the belief that education has the power to be the true equalizer in our country - a belief that continues to fuel her work. She earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Salisbury University in Maryland and her master's degree in school administration from Pace University in New York. She is a Fellow of the 18th class of the Pahara - Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.