Hattie P. Mitchell

Hattie P. Mitchell is the founder of Crete Academy, a nonprofit charter school that provides educational and other resources to children experiencing poverty or homelessness in South Los Angeles. The academy uses an integrated program model that Hattie developed—one that incorporates critical thinking, personal character, and appreciation for diversity into a larger goal of preparing young students for higher levels of education. Hattie is also a visiting professor at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, where she teaches a seminar on regional policies.

Hattie has served in many academic capacities throughout the greater Los Angeles area, including teaching second and fifth grade at Pasadena Rosebud Academy and the Los Angeles Unified School District, respectively, and dean of students at New Heights Charter School.

In 2013 Hattie served as Chief of Staff for student programs at the Louisiana Department of Education, where she led the state’s Race to the Top program. She returned to Southern California the following year to join Pasadena’s Pathways in Education as its director of charter development.