Beth Anderson

Beth Anderson, the CEO and founder of the Phoenix Charter Academy Network, began her career in education teaching bilingual kindergartners in Los Angeles in 1991 through Teach for America. Working with the mostly under-educated young parents of her students in South Central LA sparked a deep commitment to serving adolescents disconnected from traditional public education avenues, which eventually crystallized in the form of the Phoenix Charter Academy Network. Since Phoenix Chelsea was founded in 2006, Phoenix has grown into a network of three schools in Chelsea, Lawrence and Springfield, with more than 100 game-changing educators serving over 500 students. Over the past 10 years, more than 150 young people who were never expected to graduate have earned high school diplomas from Phoenix and gone on to college success. Building the Phoenix Charter Academy Network has transformed Anderson into a social entrepreneur focused on tackling poverty-generated social and economic issues that create barriers between older youth and the economic freedom that comes from educational achievement.

Anderson is an alumna of Brandeis University, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Teach For America. Previously the Co-Chair of Governor Charlie Baker’s Education Transition Committee, Anderson was recently elected as Board President of the Massachusetts Public Charter School Association in addition to serving on multiple other education advisory boards.