Becky Ellis

Becky is the daughter of Virginia public school educators and always wanted to be a teacher. Her parents and their educator friends, disillusioned by the advent of standardized testing culture, convinced her to do something else.

That something else was a 20-year legal career including work as a federal and state lobbyist, law firm partner, and VP and General Counsel at one of the largest trade associations in the world. Becky remained deeply connected to education through mentoring and by developing summer programs matching young adults in the juvenile probation system with nonprofits needing assistance.

In 2007 Becky took a leap of faith into a public high school classroom, followed by work for her district as a technology integration specialist and an instructional coach.

Her Superintendent introduced her to Ted Dintersmith, and under Ted’s leadership, Becky began fulfilling in earnest a promise she made to her parents to help bring joy back to teaching and learning. In her work with What School Could Be, Becky has helped school districts throughout the United States and Canada to reimagine education and involve their communities as supportive innovation partners.