Influential Woman · Education

Brittiany Sanford

Director of School Operations, Pearson

Cleveland, OH

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Member National Alliance of Black School Educators

Her Story

About Brittiany

I have been dedicated to education since 2007, bringing nearly 20 years of experience to transforming how students learn. My journey began as a teacher in alternative education, where I developed a deep connection to supporting students and families holistically. I then stepped into turnaround principal positions, working with schools in turnaround status to improve their state accountabilities. This gave me the opportunity to work within state accountability systems and push for student achievement, especially in low socioeconomic communities, which became a true passion of mine. For over 10 years now, I have been working in the ed tech space supporting virtual schools, even before the pandemic made virtual learning widely recognized. Currently, I work in the virtual ed tech space with K-12 students, specializing in synchronous and asynchronous learning. Our platform and curriculum are specifically designed for virtual delivery, not just emergency remote learning. I focus on supporting students who are looking to educate themselves outside the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom, and helping school leaders and learners succeed in this non-traditional space. My work is grounded in the belief that all students can learn and should be able to demonstrate their learning in measurable ways, regardless of the educational setting.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Brittiany

01What do you attribute your success to?

Definitely God. Definitely just my faith in Him and my faith in the belief that together we can do more than what we can do individually. So I think, again, people matter. Relationships matter. And it's important to cultivate those. I believe that no one person can get this job done - you have to build teams, you have to build coalitions, and you have to build partnerships.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Treat everyone as if whoever's in front of you is the most important person at that time. I received that advice from a pastor who had been pastoring for over 4 decades. What he was really driving home is the fact that attention is a gift, and it's an investment. You need to make people feel like you care about them, and that you're invested in them. I think we forget that a lot of times in a technology-driven society - people's feelings and connections matter.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I think in the present-day society there is a lack of support and a lack of respect for what it means to be a woman in any industry. And I think there's a devaluation of what women bring to the table. So I feel like for any young woman, my advice to her would be to take up space, to make sure that you are not allowed to be diminished, that your ideas don't be diminished - don't allow anyone to diminish your ideas, your input, or your impact. Make sure that you recognize that you belong at every table. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said something that rings in my head: you belong where decisions are being made. So if there's a place where decisions are being made, you belong there.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think we have great opportunity to leverage innovations in education, to really think about education in new ways, especially as funding is being changed - funding structures and the funneling of education dollars to the educational community is changing so quickly. I think embracing innovation and thinking about new models to support student learning is critical. Also, what jobs are we actually preparing students for in the future? That is changing so quickly that we really need to get out of traditional modes of what it means to be a learner and how you demonstrate learning.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Supporting equity initiatives is very important to me. Ensuring that we are celebrating and educating the whole child is central to my work. Connecting families to community resources matters deeply. I also focus on supporting leaders in ways that help them think about their teams and think about building educational teams that support a community. No one person can get this job done - you have to build teams, you have to build coalitions, and you have to build partnerships. People matter, and relationships matter.

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