Linda Cliatt-Wayman is a renowned education leader with an unwavering belief in the potential of all children. Raised in poverty in North Philadelphia, she experienced firsthand the inequities of public education and dedicated her life to ensuring students from similar backgrounds could escape poverty through learning.

After two decades as a special education teacher, she became principal of FitzSimons High School, transforming it from a school plagued by violence into a safe, learning-focused environment. She went on to turn around The Young Women’s Leadership School at Rhodes High School, where student proficiency rates soared and 94% of seniors were accepted into college. Later, as principal of Strawberry Mansion High School in her own neighborhood, she led the school off the federal Persistently Dangerous Schools list while steadily improving academic outcomes.

Her leadership has earned national recognition. Her TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times, she’s been profiled by Diane Sawyer on ABC, and her book Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard is beloved by educators. In 2016, she was named a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize out of more than 8,000 nominees worldwide.

Today, Cliatt-Wayman draws on her decades of experience to develop current and future school leaders through leadership training, convenings, and keynote addresses. She is known for ending her daily announcements to students with the words, “If no one told you they loved you today, remember I do and always will.”