Title: Chief Learning Officer
Company: Bloom Software, Inc. (Thrively)
Location: Glendale, California, United States
Dr. Marion Smith Jr. has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for his achievements in education, and his track record of driving innovation, fostering equity and accelerating academic outcomes.
– Visionary, transformative and impact-driven education leader with a proven track record of driving innovation, fostering equity and accelerating academic outcomes
– Scholar-practitioner with experiences spanning public school teaching, school leadership, EdTech leadership, elected board membership, regional education leadership, school district cabinet-level leadership and state-level leadership in diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic educational settings with enrollment ranging from 3,400 – 890,000 students
– Strong fiscal leader of budgets up to $45 million
– Co-author of the Racial Equity Adaptive Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Framework; featured speaker and presenter at the national, state and regional levels covering topics ranging from adaptive leadership, critical pedagogy, adult learning, implementation science, systems thinking and racial equity/diversity/inclusion (REDI)
– Legal acumen and data-informed systems thinker
Dr. Marion Smith Jr. is a career educator with over 20+ years leading and managing complex organizational growth, change and impact in PK-12 education, post-secondary institutions and EdTech.
Currently, Dr. Smith serves as chief learning officer for Thrively. Thrively is a leading social impact EdTech company dedicated to revolutionizing education through strengths-based education and asset-based learning. Thrively’s innovative learning platform, pedagogical approaches and targeted supports develop the whole child by identifying strengths, understanding well-being, and managing hope.
Prior to Thrively, Dr. Smith served as the assistant state superintendent of instructional programs & services for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Before state-level leadership, he was the chief academic officer and deputy superintendent of academics of St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS). Additionally, he made history as the first Black administrator and first Black superintendent of schools of Summit School District in Summit County, Colorado, as well as serving as the first chief operating & education officer for TechSmart, a leading EdTech company specializing in K-12 computer science and coding education.
Dr. Smith has held other educational leadership roles in Washington, Pennsylvania and Nevada. He began his career as a secondary English language arts teacher in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the fifth largest school district in the country, Clark County School District.
A life-long learner with a focus on excellence, Dr. Smith is a performing arts high school graduate and first-generation college student whose scholarship includes a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and a master’s degree in education administration & supervision with K-12 Principal Certification from the University of Phoenix – Las Vegas campus. He earned a doctorate degree in educational leadership & change from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA, and pursued post-doctoral studies in executive leadership at Seattle University (Seattle U), earning Washington State Superintendent Certification. Additionally, Dr. Smith is an inaugural graduate of the AASA Urban Superintendents Academy at the University of Southern California (USC); a Harvard Business School Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) alumni; Men of Color in Educational Leadership (MCEL) National Leadership Institute Inaugural fellow; and a Spring 2024 graduate from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Guided by an unwavering pursuit of personal, institutional and systemic equity, Dr. Smith is the co-author of the Racial Equity Adaptive Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Framework©.
For more information, please visit:
Thrively
Educate to Liberate Consulting (E2LC)
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