“I joined the BES Fellowship because I am passionate about building a school that develops students academically, professionally, and as human beings, so that whoever they become, and whatever the world looks like when they get there, they will be ready.”
Collin Thompson grew up in rural East Tennessee. His grandfather dropped out of the 7th grade to work the family farm and never learned to read or write. His grandmother, a factory worker, earned her GED at 50. His mother put herself through nursing school at the local vocational college, becoming the first person in his family to earn an education past high school. Collin knows firsthand what a quality education can do to the trajectory of a life, and that is why this work has never been abstract for him.
Collin began his career in Arusha, Tanzania, co-founding a nonprofit serving women living with HIV/AIDS and directing an international volunteer program, where he learned to build from nothing, earn trust across difference, and lead through ambiguity. That experience still shapes how he leads. After returning from Tanzania, Collin served as a National Teaching Fellow through AmeriCorps at a Title I public middle school in San Jose, California. He then joined the Founding Team of Emblaze Academy Charter School in the Bronx—a BES Fellow-founded school—first as Founding History Teacher and later as Founding Dean of Community Engagement, Government Relations, and College Preparatory Instruction. In his classroom, students with IEPs and English Language Learners consistently grew at or above the rate of their general education peers.
Collin went on to serve as an Education Consultant with Education Elements, advising public school district superintendent teams across the country, from large urban districts like Atlanta Public Schools to rural districts in Upstate New York, on the creation and implementation of strategic improvement plans. He then served as Principal of The Learning Center, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, where he led a full organizational restructuring, earning a 98% approval rating from the team. Additionally, he has experience running for public office.
Collin earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and his master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Digital Learning and Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education.
