Karolyn Belcher is the Chief Academic Officer of the Charleston County School District (CSSD). In that role, she is responsible for leading the academic improvement strategy for South Carolina’s second largest school district. This includes CCSD’s curriculum adoption, professional learning, and COVID recovery planning.

Prior to this role, she was the President of TNTP and oversaw all the organization’s partnerships with school systems nationwide. TNTP is a national nonprofit that aims to partner with school districts on their most pressing student achievement challenges. She was the principal of the John A. Reisenbach Charter School, one of the first three charter schools in New York State, located in central Harlem; and began her career teaching science in New Orleans as a charter corps member of Teach For America.

Karolyn has been recognized as both a Pahara-Aspen Fellow and a Broad Academy Fellow. She has served on a variety of Boards including Teach Western Massachusetts and as Chair of the Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Cambridge, MA. She has a BA in Biological Science from Mount Holyoke College and an MA and MEd in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.