Penelope Pak McMillen is a Senior Manager at Education Forward DC on the Schools and
Talent Team. Her work centers on evaluating and providing funding for organizations and
schools that aim to improve school quality, develop educator pipelines, and address racial
barriers to educational success. She is deeply committed to ensuring all students – regardless
of prior preparation or background – have high-quality learning experiences that prepare them
to live happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives. Penelope was drawn to Education Forward DC
because of its commitment to developing educators so that schools are led by talent invested in
their success, and its focus on driving educational equity across DC.
Penelope began her career in the classroom as a high school english teacher at a charter
school. She later became the school’s principal, leading a bold transformation from a traditional
instructional model to a personalized learning approach built to meet the needs of diverse
learners. Under her leadership, instructional systems strengthened, student engagement
deepened, and student outcomes remained consistently high.
After her principalship, Penelope turned her focus to scaling impact nationwide as the national
director of school and district success with Summit Learning. She helped expand the innovative
school model she once led to 380 schools across 40 states, reaching more than 80,000
students. She coached state, regional, and district leaders to implement high-quality,
project-based learning curriculum, social-emotional learning, and blended learning with clarity,
coherence, and measurable results. At Transcend, she also partnered with schools and districts
to redesign traditional schools and support the model implementation journey. With a
community-driven school redesign process, Penelope supported the development and
execution of a multi-year school redesign plan to transform traditional schools and implement
high-quality instructional materials, blended learning, and high-dosage tutoring. Most recently as
the Senior Director of Formal Learning at KIPP Foundation, she designed and led the national
leadership development strategy for principals and principal managers. Her work centered on
building the systems, structures, and capacity so that leaders could coach and manage towards
instructional academic excellence and equitable student outcomes
Penelope holds a master’s degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University and
dual bachelor’s degrees in mass communications and political science from University of
California, Berkeley. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her family.