Executive Leadership Team

Beth Thompson

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Beth Thompson is the founding CEO of KIPP Northern California where she is responsible for the organization’s performance, growth, and sustainability. KIPP Northern California currently works with nearly 7,000 students and their families in 21 schools across seven cities and has supported over 4,000 alumni on their journeys to fulfilling lives.

Before becoming KIPP Northern California’s CEO in 2006, Beth created and implemented a strategic growth plan for KIPP schools on the West Coast, including securing charters, start-up funding, facilities, and community support. She has also worked on the founding team of NewSchools Venture Fund, and more recently, as an Executive Coach building capacity in KIPP CEOs across the country. She holds a B.A. in political science, an M.A. in education, and an MBA with a certificate in nonprofit management—all from Stanford University. She is a proud resident of Oakland, parent of two elementary school children, board member of Cambiar Education, and co-founder of Greenhouse E3.

Hilary Harmssen

Chief External Impact Officer

Hilary Harmssen brings over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in the areas of educational equity, community development, affordable housing, and economic development. Prior to joining KIPP, she worked at the California Charter Schools Association for 10 years, serving as a relentless advocate for charter public schools and leading the organization's advocacy, policy, and political work across the Bay Area and Northern California. A Bay Area native, Hilary holds a BA in American Studies from Cornell University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Southern California. In her free time, Hilary loves to go on adventures with her husband and three kids.

Brandy Woodard

Chief People Officer

Brandy is currently an executive at a social-purpose edtech company, Sown To Grow, where she leads strategy and innovation. She also has experience as a School Leader Manager at KIPP Northern California and oversees our Principal-In-Residence program.

In her spare time, she serves as a leadership coach to educators across the country. Brandy brings extensive experience as a mission-driven, equity-focused educator, leader, and coach. She also brings a strong track record of transformational talent development, driving results in complex systems down to the student level, and an ability to pair systems thinking with winning strategies and high-quality execution.

Jenny Tan

Superintendent

Jenny Tan graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science. Tan earned a Master's degree and a School Leadership License from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. As the elementary principal of the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, she helped the school achieve the highest distinctions: "Exemplary" and "High Achieving" as determined by the Nevada Department of Education. She later became the first Chief Academic Officer for KIPP Colorado, where she supported their elementary, middle, and high schools to become top-performing schools in Denver Public Schools. Tan then joined the KIPP Foundation allowing her to work with senior academic leaders across the KIPP network. She was most recently the Associate Dean of the Relay California Leadership Programs before joining our KIPP Northern California team.

Dr. Savina Woodyard

Chief Equity and Strategy Officer

Leslie Billie

Chief Operating Officer

Leslie Billie will serve as Chief Operating Officer, where she will lead the Data, Expanded Learning & Athletics, Operations, and Tech teams, and focus on building an operational ecosystem that enables schools to deliver joyful, academically excellent learning environments.

Leslie spent the last three years as KIPP NorCal’s Managing Director of Operations & Compliance, partnering closely with schools, regional teams, and senior leaders to develop mission-aligned systems that allow educators to stay focused on teaching and learning.

A long-time KIPPster, Leslie previously spent a decade at KIPP NYC, where she helped expand operational systems during a time of rapid regional growth and instructional alignment. She served as Director of Regional Operations and, earlier, as Director of Operations at KIPP Washington Heights Elementary.

Frank Wu

Chief Financial Officer

Frank will serve as Chief Financial Officer, leading the Accounting, Finance, Public Accountability & Compliance (PACT), and Real Estate teams, and focus on continuously cultivating the optimal financial and operating conditions to deliver the equitable and high-quality education necessary to drive student success over the long-term.

Frank has served and led on the KIPP NorCal Finance Team for eight years, most recently as Managing Director of Finance & Accounting for the past three years. Over the past eight years, he has developed deep partnerships with our School Leaders, Board of Directors, and RSO teams, orchestrated our annual $170M+ budgeting process, evolved our school compensation strategy, and maintained KIPP NorCal’s strong financial health. Prior to KIPP, Frank was a strategy consultant at Accenture, where he also volunteered to lead the Accenture SF / KIPP NorCal partnership.