Leslie Talbot

Leslie Talbot is the Founder and Principal of Talbot Consulting, an independent education management consulting practice. Throughout her career Ms. Talbot has established herself as a strategic partner with educators, schools, state and local education agencies, charter management and other nonprofit organizations, school design teams, foundations and philanthropic institutions. Always seeking to work collaboratively and to provide customized and sustainable solutions, Leslie supports both existing and start-up education ventures in the areas of program design and strategic planning; site reviews and evaluations; program model expansion and site replications; staffing models and retention plans; board recruitment, development and training; guidance and technical assistance in distributive leadership and professional learning community structures and approaches; leadership coaching; and assistance in student assessment and professional development systems. Over the years, Ms. Talbot’s work has earned her projects supported by federal, state and local governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Daniel Rose, Rose Associates, Inc., the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for Louisiana, and the school districts of Newark, NJ, New York City, Long Beach, CA, Portland, OR, Chattanooga, TN and Jackson, MS.

Just prior to launching Talbot Consulting, Leslie served as Senior Vice President (SVP) and founding employee of K12connect, Inc. – a privately-held education software company specializing in technology solutions for school site human resource recruitment and management. As SVP, Ms. Talbot researched best practices in school staffing plans to identify “good fit” variables for schools and prospective employees. Leslie’s research contributed to the design, development, and marketing of web-based software, CharterSchoolJobs.com to help schools identify and recruit faculty and staff.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Talbot worked as an education legislative analyst and advocate, conducted education research and evaluation projects, and provided technical assistance and guidance to state education agencies. Specifically, Leslie served as the Director of Research & Evaluation for Teach For America (TFA) where she developed an evaluation framework to assess TFA corps members’ performance. Findings included corps members’ challenges and achievements, school site outcomes and student impacts. Before her role at TFA, Ms. Talbot was a Project Associate for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) where she directed the Middle Grades Critical Thinking Project (supported by The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation) and co-directed the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Middle Grades School State Policy Initiative.

Leslie’s most recent publication entitled, “Pathways to Opportunity Project: Increasing Educational Equity through Innovative School Design Elements,” was co-authored with Aretha Miller in August, 2015. This position paper recommends seven design elements essential for schools serving off-track youth. Leslie’s recent presentations include those made during the National Charter Schools Conference, “Conversations on Policy, Programs, and Accountability for Off-Track Youth” in June 2015; the Expanded Learning Conference, “School District and Local Initiatives” to scale expanded learning opportunities (April 2015); and the Alternative Accountability Policy Forum, “What Key Design Elements Support Off-Track Youth” in November, 2015.

Ms. Talbot earned a Master of Arts degree in sociology and education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy from Stanford University. She is a Trustee for the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry), and has been appointed to the Stanford Associates (alumni association volunteer council). A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. Talbot currently resides in New York City where she enjoys cycling, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and a good story!