As the CEO of the Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC), Dr. Maya Bugg has almost two decades of experience launching, scaling, and leading high-impact initiatives throughout the education sector have positioned her to lead charter school growth and success in Tennessee. Under Dr. Bugg’s leadership, TCSC has secured almost $100 million in resources for public charter schools and their students, helping to move Tennessee towards more equitable funding for all public school students. TCSC has improved access to high quality public schools, especially for our most marginalized communities. 

In previous roles within a variety of organizations, Dr. Bugg was charged with overseeing strategic growth, financial stability & development, and regional partner acquisition. Under her executive leadership, she scaled the impact of each organization by steadily growing their programmatic footprint and markedly increasing partner investment throughout their geographies.

Additionally, Dr. Bugg is the founder of The Bugg Consulting Group where she supports companies in building anti-racist and inclusive spaces that respect their internal and external stakeholders. 

She has also participated in various prestigious national and local fellowships, including the national Pahara-Aspen Fellowship; Leadership TN; & Leadership Nashville. Dr. Bugg was also named a Woman of Influence by the NBJ and also has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 honoree. She serves on a number of local, state and national committees and boards. Dr. Bugg earned a BA from UPenn, an EdM from Harvard University, and her EdD in leadership, policy & organizations from Vanderbilt University, where she also serves as an adjunct professor.

Dr. Emerald Mitchell is a young, grassroots leader who believes that youth can achieve anything that they can dream. Since moving to Nashville in 2000, she has worked diligently to mitigate the “exposure gap” and ensure that underserved youth are exposed to experiences that will help them realize their aspirations. Dr. Mitchell received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Fisk University, M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix campus, Master’s in Education from Tennessee State University and received her Doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University. 

As the Executive Director of Moves & Grooves, a nonprofit arts organization which serves over 350 youth from Middle Tennessee each year in afterschool and enrichment programming, Dr. Mitchell has consistently integrated innovative strategies to ensure students are surrounded by caring educators, engaged in programming that teaches them skills which support success in school and life—such as dance, communication, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, and discipline—and supported in cultivating a strong sense of confidence. Dr. Mitchell is always seeking to raise the bar when it comes to offering students high-quality learning experiences. 

In this spirit, she serves as VP Elect on the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee, helping to provide school improvement recommendations related to literacy and science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) for the districts 86,000+ students. As a dissertation advisor at Trevecca Nazarene University, Dr. Mitchell mentors school administrators and community leaders in identifying strong research topics and preparing for their dissertation defense so that they can become transformational leaders in their schools and agencies. 

Last year, as a result of Dr. Mitchell’s leadership and expressed interest in improving students’ access to high-quality STEM programming, Dr. Mitchell participated in a national pilot called Frontiers in Urban Science Education (FUSE). Through the FUSE pilot, Dr. Mitchell and her team engaged in over 30 hours of engineering design challenges by district leaders and education professionals. This work is serving as a case study to inform future directions for how afterschool programs can bridge STEM learning from the school day to the afterschool day, in an effort to inspire underserved students’ interest and motivation in STEM, and eventual engagement in STEM post-secondary degree programs and careers.

Dr. Mitchell’s track record demonstrates how she advocates for improvements to children’s learning experiences on the community, school, and district level. Additionally, she is a strong advocate for arts, women and people of color as evidenced by her membership in several civic, social and community organizations. Dr. Mitchell serves as the 2018-2019 VP of Development for the Junior League of Nashville, 2018-2019 Board Member of the Art & Business Council of Greater Nashville, Member of Nashville CABLE Women’s Leadership Organization, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Nashville Chamber: Young Professionals, Young Leaders, and the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance. 

She was recently the keynote speaker for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Multi-State Conference where she shared her secret to success in integrating arts instruction and youth engagement in out-of-school time settings to over 12,000 teaching professionals. In December 2017, Dr. Mitchell was elected through a rigorous selection process as a 2018 Nashville Emerging Leader. Dr. Mitchell was also recently nominated for the 2017-2018 NAACP Legacy Award, which is the highest award recognized by a chapter for community involvement and impact. In 2019, Dr. Mitchell was selected as Nashville Business Journals 40 Under 40 Award recipient. Personally, Dr. Mitchell is the proud wife of Deitrick Mitchell and mother of 4 children Success, Chosen, Believe and Purpose.