Newark Charter School Fund

Michele Mason serves as the executive director of the Newark Charter School Fund. A New Jersey native, Michele is a longtime advocate for high-quality education options throughout the state. Prior to joining NCSF, she served as the deputy director of JerseyCAN, a nonprofit education research and advocacy organization that advocates for high-quality education for students regardless of zip code.

In 2002, Michele became the first director of college placement at the KIPP Academy in the Bronx, NY. She spent the next 10 years supporting first-generation college-bound students at KIPP and other institutions, including two years as the director of college access and success at Newark's North Star Academy. She also spent two years leading the alumni affairs team at Teach for America-N.J., where she was charged to motivate and inspired almost 1,000 TFA alumni across the state.

In 2014, the Black Alliance for Educational Options named Michele a Bailey Sullivan Leadership Institute Fellow, a yearlong fellowship that prepares and advances the skills of educational leaders to serve as passionate and effective advocates for change.

Michele received her bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, where she was a four-year letter winner as a member of the varsity soccer team and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She has an advanced certificate in nonprofit business management from Washington University-St. Louis, and a master's degree in education policy and management from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.