Michael has spent his career striving towards educational equity for all children, working as a preschool teacher, instructional coach, and school principal. Before joining Bezos Academy, Michael served as the Chief of Early Childhood Education for Chicago Public Schools, the third-largest school district in the country. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance, a master’s in Early Childhood Education, and a doctorate in Urban Educational Leadership. Michael is excited to continue the work of expanding access to high-quality, early childhood education at Bezos Academy. Michael’s favorite children’s books include Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Little Engine That Could, and Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Jeff is the founder of Amazon.com and the aerospace company Blue Origin, and the owner of The Washington Post. In 2018, he founded the Bezos Day One Fund, which focuses on funding nonprofits that help homeless families, and on creating a network of tier-one preschools in low-income communities. Jeff graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University, and he was named TIME’s 1999 Person of the Year. Jeff’s favorite children’s book is Mr. Pine’s Purple House.

Tracie has spent more than 25 years in public education in large urban school districts. Prior to joining Bezos Academy, Tracie served in Arlington Independent School District as Chief Schools Officer and in Dallas Independent School District as a teacher, principal, and executive director for PK-12 schools. A staunch advocate for changing outcomes for all children, Tracie leverages her experience as a “turnaround leader” to create systems and structures to transform the learning experience for children. Tracie is passionate about closing the opportunity gap for children and has successfully led numerous schools to achieve national recognition. Tracie earned her Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications from Texas Woman’s University, a Masters in Educational Leadership from Texas A&M Commerce, and a doctorate in Educational Policy and Leadership Program from Southern Methodist University. She also serves on the board of two mission-driven educational non-profit organizations. Tracie’s favorite children’s books include Mel Fell and The Same But Different Too.

Sean combines his enthusiasm for innovative business solutions, operational integrity and excellence, and mission-based organizations to his work as head of finance for Bezos Academy. Before joining Bezos Academy, Sean worked in finance at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also worked as a Director of Accounting at a private technology company that went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange during his tenure. He began his career in public accounting where he served a range of clients from startup to Fortune 50 companies. Sean is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Accounting and in Business Administration, Finance, from Western Washington University. Sean enjoys outdoor adventures with his spouse and two children around the Seattle area and further afield. Sean’s favorite children’s books are The Antlered Ship and Jabari Tries.

Katie’s communications career was sparked over 20 years ago by her belief in the role communications plays in increasing educational access for low-income communities and students of color. She has worked for education advocacy organizations, political campaigns, state government agencies, technology companies, and foundations. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree in French from Duke University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Acting in a volunteer capacity, she has advised and raised money for her local school district, where her two children have attended the public schools since preschool. Katie also volunteers with her neighborhood swim team and her church. Whether running, hiking, biking, swimming, or camping, Katie always feels grateful for the Seattle area’s natural beauty. With her children now older, Katie misses nights filled with bedtime stories and when Llama, Llama Red Pajama spoke to her.

Mike has spent his career building and leading innovative businesses and services that change how we shop, live, and work. Mike spent more than 20 years at Amazon, where he led customer-loved businesses, including the Echo, Alexa, and Appstore. Earlier in his career, Mike spent over a decade in the newspaper business, including at USA Today and The Baltimore Sun Company. Mike is passionate about the mission of Bezos Academy and excited to apply his skills to help expand access to early childhood education. Mike’s favorite children’s book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Jamie is passionate about developing teams and organizations where people thrive. Jamie joined Bezos Academy because of her fundamental belief that every child deserves access to a high-quality education. She has spent her career in the human resources field, taking on new challenges in a variety of roles at Target, Amazon, and, most recently, Juno Therapeutics. Jamie earned her undergraduate degree, with dual majors in Marketing and Psychology, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and executive coaching certification from the Hudson Institute. She is a Midwesterner at heart but loves living in Seattle with her husband and two Maine Coon cats. Jamie enjoys cooking, yoga, traveling to new places, and exploring the great outdoors. One of her favorite childhood books was The Giving Tree.

Robert has over 30 years of experience working on DEI-related issues across the country. He was most recently the Chief Economic Inclusion Officer and General Counsel for YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the Economic Empowerment Institute for the YWCA, and his work was focused on leading initiatives and developing programs and strategies to close the racial wealth gap. Robert has also served as the Chief Diversity Officer for the largest Minority and Woman owned law firm in the country and was responsible for its national DEI strategy. Robert has extensive corporate experience and worked for McDonald’s Corporation for 15 years as in-House Counsel. He was a key member of the Diversity Faculty and the company Liaison responsible for managing all the Black McDonald’s Owner Operators. Robert’s favorite children’s book is All People Are Beautiful.

Miguel is a creator with a track record of imagining, building, operating, and scaling products and businesses. Prior to Bezos Academy, Miguel spent nine years at Amazon, where he launched and operated several successful products. Prior to Amazon, Miguel worked in the video game industry for four years as a product and tech leader. Miguel started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he worked on PwC’s management consulting team for 11 years. When he is not building schools or spending time with his family, Miguel coaches youth sports, plays guitar, and mountaineers across the Pacific Northwest. His favorite children’s book is Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Will is passionate about serving organizations that consciously, systematically, and sustainably serve communities in need. As General Counsel, Will develops and oversees all legal, regulatory, risk-management, and compliance work for the organization. Prior to joining Bezos Academy, Will was a partner at Lane Powell, a prominent Seattle-based law firm. In this role, he successfully built and led teams that solved complex legal problems for early childhood education, non-profit, and technology businesses. Will graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and summa cum laude from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. In his free time, Will enjoys trail running with his Australian Shepherd and cooking plant-based meals with his partner. Will’s favorite children’s book is Wacky Wednesday.