EDUCATION
Dr. Thomas Maridada founded the Center for Strategic Leadership and Organizational Coherence (CSL) based on his belief that every child in this country deserves to attend a high-performing school—and that highly effective teachers and school leaders drive higher student achievement.
Tom’s years of experience in the classroom and urban school and district leadership roles in some of Michigan’s most vulnerable communities culminated in him being named the state’s “Superintendent of the Year” by AASA, the nation’s School Superintendents Association. This award honored Tom for fostering innovations in STEM, college readiness, dual high school/college enrollment, International Baccalaureate, and world language immersion—in part through investments in teachers’ and leaders’ professional development designed to drive district transformation.
Designated an “outstanding teacher of the year” in his early career, Tom embraced the mentorship of renowned educator Marva Collins, the founder of Chicago’s West Side Prep. Accepting Collins’ challenge to change systems as well as schools, Tom developed a county-level plan that boosted student reading/math achievement up to 40 percent over two years in 24 urban schools in Detroit that were in “corrective action” under No Child Left Behind. The National Urban League, the NAACP, and the Metropolitan Detroit Youth Foundation each honored Tom for his dedication and work with young people and their school systems.
Later Tom served as The Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) National Director of Educational Policy, Practice and Strategic Initiatives, boosting funding and impact of national initiatives to improve the well-being of children, families, and communities. His work with CDF’s National Freedom Schools Education Initiative measurably improved reading proficiency for 200,000 students in 102 cities in 29 states.
Before launching the Center, Tom answered the call of Ohio business leaders and policymakers to establish BRIGHT New Leaders for Ohio’s Schools. Jointly organized by the Ohio State University Fischer School of Business and the state’s Department of Education, BRIGHT became a national exemplar for recruiting, training, and placing high-performing principals in high-poverty public schools across the state.
A global as well as national educational equity ambassador, Tom has advised policymakers, academics, and educational leaders ranging from Germany and Morocco to Australia and New Zealand.
