Meet Matchbook Learning’s New Chief Operating Officer: Nishita Gupte
Nishita Gupte started her career in private equity and investment banking, identifying, valuing and investing in undervalued assets with high growth potential. But something was amiss. She sought something more fulfilling professionally that she could connect with personally. Nishita knew the impact of education in her own life. Could she invest in another kind of undervalued asset with high growth potential?
Pursuing a career in public education would require schooling itself. Should she deepen her skills in strategy, finance and operations? Or should she explore graduate work in education?
Yes and yes.
Rather than choosing, she did both, simultaneously pursuing an MBA and a Masters in Education from Stanford. Upon graduation, Nishita completed stints with a leading national CMO as well as a leading national venture philanthropy firm focused on public education. She was on the founding management team of Touchstone Education serving as their COO prior to becoming Matchbook Learning’s COO. We interviewed Nishita regarding her new role with Matchbook Learning.
What would you describe as the biggest challenge of being our Chief Operating Officer?
My biggest challenge as the Chief Operating Officer is to create and build scalable systems while still allowing for innovation and organizational learning. Effective structures and processes are critical to ensure our schools operate safely and efficiently and produce strong academic outcomes for students. But as an organization we also have to balance this with continuous learning and improvement and the ability of staff at all levels to experiment and innovative.
What are your goals for this next year?
Looking ahead on this year I am excited to continue to build a powerful model of personalized learning for our students in Newark and Detroit. My goal is to codify the key practices that make the model great and do so in a way that supports all of the teachers making this work in our classrooms every day.
What most attracted you to this position?
I was most attracted to this position because of the chance to work with a team of smart, thoughtful people who are committed to creating high quality, innovative schools for underserved students. I’m looking forward to working with a team that questions all of their assumptions, rigorously debates important decisions, relentlessly focuses on what is best for our students and pursues the work with urgency and humility.
Why should gifted educators consider working for a Matchbook Learning school?
Educators should work at a Matchbook school if they have always wanted to work more closely with students in small groups and individual conferences and are excited about leveraging the power of instructional technology to make this possible. If they are eager to help figure out what the classroom of the future looks like and want to be part of a team that supports their growth and development, then a Matchbook school is the right place for them.
