Steph Bates

As the Senior Director of Special Projects for the Professional Education team, Steph manages inclusive and transparent meeting and communication structures for a growing team, steers cross-functional projects, and ensures team focus on strategic goals as well as urgent priorities. She enjoys creating clarity from ambiguity and building collaborative groups.

Previously, Steph was a founding team member at Leading Educators, where she worked across the organization in areas including PR, program delivery, development, event marketing, operations, and partner relationships. She also lived and worked in Athens, Greece, developing writing tutoring and teaching programs for English Language Learner students at Hellenic American University.

Steph graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in English and History and earned her M.B.A at Loyola University New Orleans. Steph lives in New Orleans with her partner, daughter, pets, and many house plants.