Dr. Michael Vea
Senior Director
Dr. Michael Vea, of San Diego, holds a Doctor of Education Leadership degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Michael most recently served as the doctoral resident at Transcend – a national non-profit organization that supports communities to create and spread “extraordinary and equitable learning environments so that all young people can learn in ways that enable them to thrive in and transform the world.” His doctoral studies at Harvard focused on: system-level leadership, curriculum and instruction, school design, and transformational coaching/adult development. In the Summer of 2018, he served as a Gordon Ambach Fellow at the Hawaii State Department of Education’s Office of Strategy, Innovation, and Performance. He collaborated with the Assistant Superintendent of Strategy & Innovation and other state education directors.
Michael’s career in education began in 2001 when he joined the ranks of Teach For America as a 5th-grade teacher at P.S. 128 in New York City’s Washington Heights community. In 2005, he co-founded KIPP Infinity Middle School in Harlem, where he taught 5th Grade Nonfiction Studies, 7th Grade American History, and Journalism. After 14 years in the classroom, Michael served as an education consultant at LitLife PD. His portfolio included the Fort Zumwalt School District in O’Fallon, MO, the Dinuba Unified School District in Dinuba, CA, and the NYC Department of Education’s District 8 in the Bronx. A son of Filipino immigrants, Michael is also committed to expanding educational opportunities for children in the Philippines. In 2012, he served as the Co-Director of the U.S. Strategy and Recruitment of Teach for the Philippines, a partner of Teach For All. Michael is the recipient of the Harriet Ball Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Sontag Prize in Urban Education.