The Leadership Collaborative is an educational consulting firm that provides critical race theory-aligned coaching, consulting, and professional development to schools and school districts. ¹ It was created by left-of-center activist Jen Benkovitz. ²

Background

The Leadership Collaborative was formed in 2020 by Jen Benkovitz. ³ It states that its mission is to advance social justice and equity in schools to mobilize systemic change ⁴ and its work is aligned with critical race theory. ⁵ The firm asserts that education leaders must be trained to examine their racial identity, that policies that produced different outcomes for different racial groups must be reformed, and that students should work within racial affinity groups. ⁶

Benkovitz opposes dividing students into learning groups based on ability, calling it a form of white supremacy and modern-day segregation. ⁷ She has stated that advanced placement are remedial classes reflect systemic racism and implicit racial bias. ⁸ The Leadership Collaborative and Benkovitz espouse “unpacking your whiteness in an effort to “dismantle White Supremacy Culture.” ⁹

Programs

Benkovitz is described as a “partner in crime” and collaborator with Joe Truss from Truss Leadership, a coaching and consulting services that has sponsored such programs as “Dismantling White Supremacy in Our Schools,” “Dismantling White Supremacy in Our Culture,” “Racial Equity in Schools,” “Using Racial Affinity Groups”, and “Ain’t Nothing Micro about Microagressions.” ^{10 11}

Benkovitz was a speaker at the 2021 Truss Leadership’s summer and fall conferences on Dismantling White Supremacy in Schools. ¹² She is often a presenter on Truss’ virtual workshops promoting racial affinity groups in schools. ¹³ Benkovitz also spoke at the 2021 “North Carolina Educational Equity Conference about White Supremacy Culture in our Schools.” ¹⁴

Leadership

Jen Benkovitz is the founder and school/district leadership coach of The Leadership Collaborative. ¹⁵ Benkovitz is self-described as “fiercely committed to advancing equity and social justice in our schools.” ¹⁶ She has espoused her beliefs to “Free Palestine.” ¹⁷

Previously Benkovitz was an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina and the director of school leadership at the New Tech Network, a nonprofit that seeks to transform schools through the teaching of equity, racial-consciousness, and understanding systemic inequalities. ¹⁸ Benkovitz has also been a leadership and instructional coach at North Carolina New Schools, professional learning community coach at Education Northwest, and a principal in the Seattle and in Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina. ¹⁹

1. The Leadership Collaborative. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://www.theleadershipcollaborative.org.
2. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
3. “Jen Benkovitz.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbenkovitz/.
4. The Leadership Collaborative. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://www.theleadershipcollaborative.org/about-us/.
5. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
6. The Leadership Collaborative. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://www.theleadershipcollaborative.org/about-us/.
7. Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/jen_interview/.
8. Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/jen_interview/.
9.  Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/jen_interview/.
10. Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/blog/.
11. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
12. Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/jen_interview/.
13. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
14. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
15. Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
16. Truss Leadership. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/jen_interview/.
17.  Jen Benkovitz Twitter account. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://twitter.com/jbenkovitz.
18. New Tech Network. Accessed November 28, 2021. https://newtechnetwork.org/equity-beliefs-and-commitments/.
19. “In North Carolina, What Happened to New Schools?” The News and Observer. July 12, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwihjtKj9730AhVZCM0KHUAsC9IQFnoECAcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsobserver.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Feducation%2Farticle83233522.html&usg=AOvVaw2IH4T90O5ruOFovoxis1rZ.