Naomi N. Shelton is the chief executive officer of the National Charter Collaborative (NCC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the diversity and impact of the charter school sector by supporting single-site charter school leaders of color. Under her leadership, NCC has grown to serve a national network of more than 450 leaders across 25 states and the District of Columbia.

With over two decades of experience in management, advocacy, and strategic communications, Naomi brings a deep commitment to equity in education. Before joining NCC, she was the inaugural Director of Community Engagement at the KIPP Foundation, where she helped strengthen connections within the KIPP network and among external partners. Previously, she served as the first Director of K-12 Advocacy at UNCF, the nation’s largest minority education organization, where she advanced policy efforts to support Black education leaders and students.

Naomi’s career began in public affairs at Xenophon Strategies, a boutique public relations and crisis communications firm. She later served in Washington, DC’s Executive Office of the Mayor and the Office of the Secretary during the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. A long-time resident of Washington, DC, Naomi recently completed a term as a volunteer member and secretary of the DC Public Charter School Board. She is a proud graduate of Tougaloo College in Mississippi, holding a Bachelor of Arts in English, and lives in the city’s Southwest Waterfront neighborhood.