Dumar Paden is a mission-driven executive with 20 years leading complex education organizations through growth, innovation, and transformation. He is currently a leadership expert, consultant, speaker, and executive coach. He was most recently the chief operating officer at Prospect Schools, a K-12 diverse by design college preparatory community serving students and families in Brooklyn, NY.

Prior to joining Prospect Schools, Dumar served as chief of high schools at Achievement First Public Charter Schools, where he led a multi-state portfolio of high schools across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. In that role, he was a key architect in the development of a K–12 Graduate Aims framework defining academic, social-emotional, and leadership competencies along with a multi-year program design for high schools.

Earlier in his career, Dumar held multiple leadership roles at Achievement First, including academic dean, principal, and regional superintendent, where he led successful school turnaround efforts, improved organizational health, and delivered strong academic and postsecondary outcomes for students. He began his leadership journey as the founding director of college and career readiness at New Dawn Charter High Schools, helping to build college and career readiness systems for over-aged and under-credited students and ensuring every graduate left with a postsecondary plan.

Dumar is an alum, Executive in Residence, and executive coach for The National Fellowship for Black and Latino Male Educators (NFBLME), a national program designed to retain, and sustain the number of Black and Latino men in Senior and C-level leadership roles in education.

Across his career, Dumar has centered his leadership on building people-centered systems, coaching school and network leaders, and creating the conditions for schools and organizations to thrive.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of New York at Albany and a master’s degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University.