Leadership

Chuck Jackson
Executive Director

Chuck Jackson is an education innovator with more than 15 years of experience in building and transforming thriving educational communities.

Chuck began his career as an attorney and transitioned into the field of education in 2003, with a principal residency at Bell Multicultural High School, in Washington, DC. After leaving Bell, he founded Academie Bilingue de la Comunidad Public Charter School and served as its executive director until 2009. Chuck then went on to direct operations at CentroNia/DC Bilingual Public Charter School and to work with Equal Justice Works, as director of fellowships, and with DC Public Schools, as deputy chief of operations in the Office of Specialized Instruction. In 2016 he joined Maya Angelou Schools and the See Forever Foundation as chief operating officer.

Chuck has a BA in sociology from the University of Chicago and a JD from the Northeastern University School of Law. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Lori, and his three children, Xavier, Talia, and Andreas.

Nayamka Long
Chief Academic Officer

Nayamka Long was a Creative Minds founding teacher and the first member of our school’s Instructional Leadership Team. Before stepping into the role of CAO, she directed CMI’s lower school program and served as interim director of teaching & learning.

Nayamka has extensive experience in general and special education curriculum and program implementation. She is an expert in designing instruction to meet a wide range of student abilities, maximizing students’ learning potential by addressing individual learning challenges and supporting exceptional talents. She is able to differentiate instruction to help a class of diverse learners reach standards-based curriculum objectives. She has trained as an International Primary Curriculum coordinator and has supported the CMI Leadership Team as an instructional coach.

Nayamka taught students from prekindergarten through the elementary grades for more than 12 years in a variety of educational settings, including public, private, and charter schools. She holds an MA in education and human development from George Washington University and a BS in kinesiology from the College of William and Mary.

Craig Bednarovsky
Chief Operating Officer

Craig has more than twenty years of business-leadership experience in sales, marketing, operations, and product management, as well as in entrepreneurship and consulting. His experience includes building a business from the ground up, managing budgets and finances, guiding and overseeing organizational culture, and bringing process and structure to a rapidly growing company. Before joining CMI, he was the COO of an IT consulting and staffing firm recognized on the Inc. list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies in 2013, 2014, and 2015, where he helped drive 30 percent top-line revenue growth. He began his career at General Electric and then worked in management consulting, on a project at the Defense Logistics Agency. From there he ran sales and marketing for a local software company. The world of education has always interested him, and he considers CMI the logical next step in his career.

Craig holds a BA in economics and political science from American University and an MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Monica, and his two children, Mia and Liam.

Board of Trustees

We’ve moved information about the Creative Minds Board of Trustees to our new Board page.

Explore