Our Team & Mission

Diana is NSSI’s senior director of math. She began her career as a mathematics teacher in Western New York before moving to Florida, where she helped open a new school and expanded her impact beyond her own classroom through school- and district-level coaching. She later served as Seminole County Public Schools’ secondary mathematics curriculum and assessment specialist, helping develop formative assessment models that predicted student performance on state assessments with more than 85 percent accuracy. Diana went on to leadership roles at IDEA Public Schools and Accelerate Learning, where her work grew to include the development and expansion of mathematics programs serving students and educators across the country. She is focused on creating opportunities for students to reason, make connections, and develop confidence in their mathematical thinking. Diana holds an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership, an M.S. in Instructional Design, and a B.S. in Mathematics and is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood.

Ellie is the senior director of ELA at NSSI. She spent the first fourteen years of her career teaching History, ELA, and reading intervention at Achievement First Bushwick Middle School in Brooklyn. In addition to Ellie’s teaching responsibilities, she served as grade-level chair, department chair, curriculum writer, and coach. In 2022, Ellie’s students posted the highest percent proficient on the New York Common Core English Language Arts exam in the network. Ellie was named a Stage 5 Master Teacher, the network’s highest distinction, awarded for student achievement, student character development, quality of instruction and planning, and contribution to team achievement. Ellie currently works as a special education coordinator supporting and advocating for over 100 students with IEPs. Ellie earned her B.A. in developmental psychology at George Washington University and an M.A. from Relay Graduate School of Education.

Keri is NSSI’s chief program officer. After teaching high school math in Charlotte, North Carolina as a Teach for America corps member, Keri joined the Achievement First charter school network. Teaching seventh-grade math and eighth-grade algebra at the network in Brooklyn, she led her students for two consecutive years to 100 percent proficiency on the New York State exam, with 97 percent of eighth-graders passing the Algebra Regents exam. Later, she joined KIPP in Austin, teaching sixth-grade reading, and rose to become assistant principal and director of curriculum and professional development. Keri was formerly the director of math at NSSI, where she supported an incredible team of teachers, PD leads and curriculum developers tasked with providing rigorous, math instruction to students across the country. Keri holds a B.A. in economics and sociology from Duke University.

Maddy is NSSI’s senior director of operations. Maddy was most recently the senior manager of community partnerships & outreach at Girls Who Code, where she worked to foster strong partnerships with school districts, library networks, and community-based organizations so that every girl has the opportunity to gain the confidence and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. Previously, Maddy served as an assistant principal at Success Academy Charter Schools, where she managed instruction and teacher development in science, math, and literacy for grades K-4 – achieving results in the top 1% of all New York state public schools. She first became passionate about education while serving as an AmeriCorps member in an urban education fellowship program in Boston, Massachusetts. Maddy received her BS in Psychology and History from Union College and holds a Women in Leadership Certification from Cornell.

As the CEO of NSSI, Nancy has over two decades of experience in driving academic excellence and talent development in K-12 schools. As the former Chief of Schools for KIPP Nashville, she oversaw the expansion of the network from five to seven schools while building the core infrastructure to support teaching and learning. At KIPP NYC, Nancy led a significant realignment of curriculum, assessment, and professional development strategies, resulting in substantial gains in student performance. Her career also includes leadership roles at Achievement First and KIPP Foundation, where she focused on scaling talent programs and academic systems. She was a founding teacher of KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy in Denver, CO and a TFA Corps Member in New Orleans. Nancy holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude from Davidson College. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband Steve and son Ulysses.

Marla is the program operations manager, Data & Systems at NSSI. She began her career in education teaching English to university students in Bogotá, Colombia through a Fulbright fellowship. Marla then recruited and supported students with QuestBridge, a national nonprofit which connects some of the most exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities. While in college, she served as the director of Troy Camp at USC, a student-led nonprofit offering after-school programming and a free, week-long summer camp to K-12 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in cognitive science and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from the University of Southern California.

Jessica is the associate director of operations at NSSI. Most recently, Jessica was the director of special projects at PAVE Schools. Prior to that she spent five years as the director of talent acquisition at PAVE, where she was responsible for facilitating the full recruitment process across four programs annually. She began her career in school operations as a founding special projects coordinator at Uncommon Schools, and was subsequently the founding operations manager at PAVE Academy Charter School and a network operations manager at Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City. Jessica graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. from Trinity College (CT) in educational studies and anthropology and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

Dr. Watson is NSSI’s chief operating officer. In this role, he supports the execution of talent management and development, financial sustainability, and program operations. He began his career as an 11th grade English teacher, and his subsequent work has included launching and improving schools, strengthening organizational operational systems, leading facilities design and development, conducting school evaluations and turnaround, and serving as an executive coach for school and organizational leaders. Dr. Watson also teaches in CUNY Hunter College’s principal preparation program, where he leads a course focused on the principal as an operational leader. He previously taught improvement science to doctoral students at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Watson is a co-author of Leading Successfully When Viewpoints Differ, a toolkit that helps school leadership teams respond to polarization in the school environment. Dr. Watson holds a B.A. in English from Temple University, an M.P.A. in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a FINRA-approved arbitrator focused on employee relations and facilities development disputes. In his spare time, he serves as a Sunday School teacher at his longtime church and is an avid Pelotoner and runner.