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Rachel with daughter Simone, son Quincy, and wife Alice!

Get to know our team! This month, Jess will be sharing an interview with each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. Click here to read Jess’s interview with Jeremy Abarno. Next up, our newest team member Rachel Modica-Russell! Rachel joined the team in May 2023 after serving as Managing Director of Talent at Explore Schools. Rachel was also a member of Hendy’s first Chief Talent Officer cohort. Read on to get to know Rachel.

You’ve worked with many clients in your two years at Hendy. What is one project you’ve found most interesting? 

I don’t get the sense that what you’re looking for is me to respond with an, “ALL of them!” but that’s genuinely how I feel 🙂. In my two years with the Hendy team, I’ve supported work across performance evaluation practices, AI learning, skill-building, and compensation strategies. One project that particularly resonated with me was helping PAVE Academy in Brooklyn develop a compensation philosophy that would both capture their current approach and guide future efforts to compensate staff equitably and competitively.

What made this work special was the PAVE team’s thoughtfulness and their unwavering belief that students should be at the center of all decision-making. They deeply understand the critical role excellent educators and staff play in fulfilling their mission. This project aligned with what I’ve built my career around—creating the organizational infrastructure that attracts, retains, and enables staff to thrive while doing incredibly demanding work. Helping PAVE weave their organizational values into their compensation practices was so meaningful, and I’m grateful to have supported them at this pivotal point in their journey.

Your work supporting PAVE to incorporate their organizational values into their compensation practices is a great example of how the work that our clients do reflects what they deeply care about. You’ve accomplished a lot with your clients; what is one accomplishment you are most proud of?

One accomplishment I’m particularly proud of is how I’ve helped organizations translate their values into tangible policies and practices. At Hendy, I’ve worked with several clients to build systems that don’t just look good on paper but actually create environments where talented practitioners want to grow in and stay over time. 

What makes this meaningful is seeing the ripple effects—when an organization implements more equitable compensation practices or creates more effective evaluation systems, it directly impacts staff retention and satisfaction, which ultimately benefits students. Though the impact isn’t always immediately measurable, the feedback from clients about how our work has transformed their approach to talent management confirms we’re moving in the right direction. Building these bridges between organizational values and day-to-day practices is where I find the most pride in my work.

What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?

It is such a privilege working alongside such talented educators, leaders, and strategists in our field. I take great comfort and pride in the fact that our team and clients are aligned around a shared mission to improve educational outcomes and opportunities for students.

What I treasure most about the Hendy team is the authentic way we show up for each other. Check-ins with Hendy teammates are this beautiful combination of celebrating personal and professional milestones, supporting one another through challenges, and providing consultative services to each other—we pack a lot into our weekly hour together! The blend of expertise, humor, and genuine care creates an environment where the work feels meaningful and sustainable, even when facing complex challenges in education.

Rachel, you are such a critical part of our team culture – you bring such joy to those weekly meetings! What might people not know about you?

Silly: I am not a boardgame person, at ALL. Am I playful? Yes! Do I love to connect with people? Yes! Will I willingly opt into rules and parameters as part of my free time? Never.

Editor’s note: Jess loves boardgames and so had to promise Rachel not to incorporate games into our next team retreat.

More sincere: I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate from a four-year college. Since then, I’ve had the joy of cheerleading a sibling and both of my parents as they continue their respective educational journeys. Education has always been incredibly important to my family; we read and wrote often, debated endlessly, and were given lots of space to explore, play, and question as kids. It’s been profoundly moving to watch my parents reactivate their own educational pursuits after long careers and years of prioritizing our well-being and opportunities. Their journey reinforces my belief in education as a lifelong pursuit that can transform at any stage.

It’s so important to take inspiration from those around us, especially in challenging times. Work in education right now is difficult – what keeps you going?

My kids, your kids, all kids. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to address the hard questions related to staffing and sustaining schools. What drives me daily is the vision of schools filled with compassionate, prepared, and well-resourced adults who create spaces where all students can thrive, learn, and be academically challenged.

When the work gets particularly difficult, I remind myself that every policy we help craft, every leader we coach, or system we refine ultimately creates better conditions for students. The educational inequities in our system aren’t inevitable—they’re the result of choices, and I believe deeply in our ability to make different, better choices that create more equitable outcomes for students. That possibility is what keeps me going, even on the toughest days.

Thank you, Rachel, for sharing more about you and your work! Our team and clients are grateful for the commitment and joy you bring to our work every day. 

Jeremy with his sweet family: Marlon, Lucia, Eve, and Vivian

Anyone who has worked with Hendy knows how fantastic our team is. This month, Jess will be sharing an interview each each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. First up, Jeremy Abarno! Jeremy joined Hendy in 2019 and serves as a pivotal support for clients at Chicago Public Schools, Hebrew Public Schools, and more. Read on to get to know Jeremy.

You make such an impact on our clients and the students they serve. What is one interesting project you’ve worked on in your time at Hendy?

I’ve had the great fortune to work on so many great projects at Hendy. A recent example that I found very interesting was working with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Educator Effectiveness to design training for chiefs and deputy chiefs in their role as principal supervisors. CPS launched a new school leader evaluation program 3 years ago. Through great collaborative efforts between departments they have dedicated time and resources to sharing best practices and elevating evaluation practices. The opportunity to work with the Office of Educator Effectiveness to design workshops that aim to ensure that evaluation is not just fair, calibrated and accurate but also oriented towards the growth of school leaders has been challenging and very fulfilling. 

It’s been so awesome to see the focus be on growth for school leaders, and your work supporting a system like CPS means hundreds of thousands of kids will benefit. What is one accomplishment from your time at Hendy that you are most proud of?

I have a passion for conceptual math instruction and helping school leaders and teachers understand the capacity of all students to engage in high level mathematics. Through my work at Hendy Avenue, I’ve had the chance to coach school leaders in mathematics instructional leadership at multiple schools. Some of the schools that I’ve worked with over the past years have made double digit gains in math proficiency, and have built a culture of intellectual engagement for teachers and for students. Kids are grappling with big ideas and meaningful applications of what they’re learning. It’s pretty exciting to think about how these students will apply their learning in the future. 

I know our clients really appreciate your thoughtful and compassionate coaching style as you work with math teachers and leaders. It shows in student results! What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?

The camaraderie that comes from working on something very challenging but with a common goal and mutual respect. It’s pretty cool to work with folks who are both committed to confronting deep injustices and take the problem very seriously but at the same time don’t take themselves too seriously. Hendy team members and Hendy’s partners are committed to ensuring all kids are successful but they also find great joy in doing difficult work and in each other. 

What might people not know about you?

I struggled mightily in math in middle and high school. Really. At some point in pre-algebra my teachers stopped making connections to life and I couldn’t see it and I began to struggle – it had no meaning to me. I did what I could to get by. Then, in my first teaching job (shout out River East Elementary in East Harlem) I was sent to Math in the City at City College. There I was reintroduced to algebra as more than just abstract structures but as a tool to simplify and solve problems. The light bulb turned back on and I haven’t stopped thinking about how to help others make sense of math since. 

Thanks for sharing this! As someone who has helped me to support my middle schooler with math, I find your story so inspiring. Working in education and supporting leaders – especially right now – can be difficult. What keeps you going?

My wife and kids. My beautiful-in-all-senses-of-the-word wife of 21 years Eve loves and supports me unconditionally but expects me to be getting better all the time and I LOVE IT. My 19 year old Marlon and I share a love of math, Spanish, music, food, cycling, and ridiculous humor – he cracks me up. My daughter Lucia and I share the gift/curse of feeling things deeply – she’s so empathetic and caring but if you mistreat others, watch your back – she is a fierce advocate. And my youngest Vivian has taught me more than anyone else, even without language she sends a clear message every day that everyone deserves to be seen, loved, and joyously appreciated. I am so lucky.

Thank you Jeremy! The Hendy team, and our clients, are lucky to have YOU in our corner.

Earlier in April, we announced that Jessica Wilson is taking over as Hendy’s President. Sarah and Jess sat down (thanks to zoom) to talk about Jess’s experiences and excitement about the transition. Read below to get to know more about Jess! And read her first team spotlight here.

Congratulations on your new role leading Hendy! I am so excited about you taking the reins and leading  Hendy into the future. For folks who haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting you, can you share a bit about your background and the experiences that led you to this role? 

I’ve had the great pleasure of being a part of the Hendy team for almost 8 years, and have led client projects large and small across talent, academics and strategy. In my work, I’ve leveraged the skills and competencies that I hope will serve me well in the President role including strategic thinking, project management, communication, and change management. Even before my time at Hendy, I served in roles that required me to manage multiple priorities and projects at once, and to motivate groups large and small to take action on behalf of kids. Prior to coming to Hendy in fall 2017, I was the Executive Director of Talent Impact at Cleveland Metropolitan School District. There I led the implementation of all of our employee performance management systems, and managed our efforts in professional licensure and certification. Before CMSD, I served in various roles at TNTP where I worked with systems like Pittsburgh Public Schools, Newark Public Schools, and the Florida State Department of Education. I started my career in strategy consulting with community-based nonprofits. In addition to my “day job” I also serve as an elected member of my community’s public school Board of Education. Each of these jobs and roles has required me to use my skills and strengths, and has helped me to be ready for this new role. My biggest teaching experience so far? Parenting tweens. Nothing requires more patience and flexibility than living with an 11- and 13-year old.

Haha! Absolutely! What excites you about leading Hendy? 

My favorite part about working with Hendy is partnering with such an exceptional team. Jeremy, Erica and Rachel are top in the field, and I learn so much from each of them in our work together. I’m excited and humbled to get to step into this leadership role to support these awesome people to thrive. And to keep doing so with you, Sarah, as Executive Advisor – you have a lot of wisdom to offer me and the field.

I’m also excited to explore ways to take our business into its next phase of life. I’m a systems thinker and systems builder, and I get really excited about protocols and processes (nerd alert). I’m looking forward to flexing those muscles as we explore ways to deepen our impact for clients and our sustainability long-term.

You’ve been a part of the Hendy team for a long time. What do you think makes Hendy special? 

At the risk of repeating myself, we have the smartest and best people delivering support and solutions for our clients. But more than just support, we truly partner with the people we work with, and share their goals as our own. We are very nimble in our work, and are willing to collaborate with the organizations we serve to make sure they get the most out of our partnership. 

I’m also very proud of the work we’ve done to build cohorts for leaders. We’ve made it a priority not just to engage in project work, but to create spaces for education leaders to come together to learn, share and grow. Our work with cohorts allows us to expand our impact and serve more leaders and more kids.

We build lasting relationships with clients. Some of our past clients have become good friends – and continue to do the great work that we built together. Working in education is not easy (and seems to be getting more and more difficult) – I appreciate the communities we’ve built with our clients, cohorts and coachees. 

I couldn’t agree more. We all know that we’re in a challenging time in our country and in schools. What value do you think consultants can play to support education leaders in this particular moment? 

There is so much happening in our world, and so much that is affecting or has the potential to affect the education sector at large. School system leaders must navigate threatened or real changes to their contexts while also meeting the needs of their students and staff – and keeping the lights on. One thing I’m so proud of in how we structure our consulting work is that we are true partners to our clients. Because of the way we structure our work, a Hendy consultant can serve not just as a support person, but as a thought-partner to leaders as they encounter changes or challenges in their environment. We can distill a lot of information to what is “need to know” for our clients and their context, and ask strategic questions that help clients to navigate their challenges and make strong decisions. And, we can be an empathetic ear. I once had a client tell me he appreciated our time together because he could “take off his cape”. In this moment especially, education leaders need safe space and relationships to let their guards down and process what is happening.

Thank you so much, Jess. I’m sure folks will be eager to connect with you and the Hendy team for support. How can people connect with you if they want to learn more?

Send me an email at jessicawilson@hendyavenue.com or click here to set up a call. I love chatting with people! 

In June 2020, Hendy Avenue Consulting, like many other organizations, responded to the murder of George Floyd with a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and condeming acts of racism. We felt it was important to make a statement, but knew that alone was not enough, so we also made a series of commitments:

“We commit to continuing our own growth and learning as individuals and as a team. We commit to elevating the voices of our colleagues of color. We commit to loudly speaking out against racism. We commit to deepening our understanding of how the human capital systems we help to design and implement can either support or hurt both staff and students of color. We commit to creating spaces for education leaders where they can bring their full selves and safely speak their truth. 

As educators, we have a responsibility not just for reading, writing, and arithmetic. We have a responsibility to help shape a better tomorrow. Breaking down racism and white supremacy culture is not parallel to the work of education, it is the work.”

A year later, we reflect on the progress we’ve made and how far we still have to go to be an anti-racist organization, and to use our influence to create anti-racist spaces and tools and to develop leaders who promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. We share our reflections both to hold ourselves accountable as well as to share how even a small organization such as ours can make strides toward equity. Over the past year, our team has made improvements in: what we measure, who we work with, what we do, and how we grow. 

1. What we measure:
   • Hendy Performance Rubric: We first updated our Hendy organization and individual team member performance rubrics to reflect our equity goals, giving ourselves a north star from which to develop our anti-racist organizational strategy. 
   • Hendy Performance Rubric: We first updated our Hendy organization and individual team member performance rubrics to reflect our equity goals, giving ourselves a north star from which to develop our anti-racist organizational strategy. 
     
2. Who we work with:
   • Consulting Partners: We’ve partnered with several consultants who are BIPOC educators, consultants, and coaches and are making it a priority to continue to do so in the future. A few fantastic BIPOC partners to shout out for their excellent work: Keri Hubbard (now an incredible member of the Hendy team!), Ashley Griffin at BEE Consulting, Carrie Ellis at Celestial Consulting, Precious Boyle at Silent Rock, Audrey Lane and LaTisha Vaughn at E3 Management, and Mike Montoya and Luis Rodriguez at Stronger Consulting.
   • Cohort Members: We also prioritized engaging leaders of color in our Spring 2020 Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts and our 2021-2022 Chief Academic Officer Cohort and seek to create learning spaces where participants can bring their whole selves to the group.

• What we do:
  • Observation Rubric Workshops: We recognized that one of our most direct influences on diversity, equity, and inclusion is in teacher observation and feedback rubrics and invested in our own learning in this area. Looking ahead, we are committed to providing support to others around revising their rubric language. More information on that opportunity coming soon!
  • Observation Rubric Development: The team, in partnership with our clients, has been responsible for writing observation and feedback rubrics for the Delaware Department of Education and for KIPP Texas Public Schools. Both of these rubrics take a strong equity and inclusion stance and will advance equity in their classrooms.
  • Academics: Our team has an increasing focus on academics and is bringing an anti-racist lens to our academic work, particularly in mathematics where student expectations, opportunities, and instructional methods too often hold back kids of color.
  • Strategic Planning: We are partnering with one charter network to create DEI strategic plans for each of their schools following unfavorable survey feedback from teachers.
  • Talent: We continued to have an equity focus in our examination of and revision to teacher compensation systems. We also focused on equity throughout our development of a Talent Toolkit for Chicago Public School administrators. For example, one PD session within the CPS Talent Toolkit focused on how to effectively lead their evaluation system and included IRRPP research to train principals on how to build trust across lines of difference.
  • Cohort Content: Our cohort facilitators prioritized a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion as an on-going theme in our Chief Talent Officer Cohort and Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts.
    
• How we grow:
  • Individual Professional Learning Goals: Each member of our team now includes explicit goals related to DEI knowledge-building and influence in our individual professional learning goals. 
  • Accountability and Reflection: To ensure that our individual growth doesn’t get pushed aside, our team discusses progress toward our individual DEI goals every 6-8 weeks.
  • Consultancy: We regularly problem-solve together as a team when we face equity challenges in our work and, when needed, we reach out to experts in the field to get specialized guidance on how to support or challenge our clients. 

Looking Ahead

As the founder of Hendy, I’m proud of how much we’ve done over the past year to become a more anti-racist organization. I have no illusions that our equity work is done or ever will be, however, I do believe we’ve set a foundation for our future work that will serve our team and our partners well. I also believe we’ve built momentum that will propel us forward, each year getting smarter and having a greater influence. A few specific goals for the 2021-2022 school year include: 

1. Reviewing and refining our language in our performance rubric and partner survey.
2. Continuing to grow our partnerships with BIPOC educators – not just with other consultants, but also with the clients with whom we choose to work.
3. Leading strong observation and feedback reviews such that observation rubrics are driving teachers and administrators toward behaviors that enhance equity and inclusion in classrooms and schools.
4. Centering our CAO Cohort around equity to ensure that all students are getting the educational opportunities they need to be successful.
5. Revising our consulting contract language and our launch meetings to make clear our anti-racist stance and what that means for our partnerships.
6. Reflecting on the ways in which our internal practices are based in a white supremacy culture and may not be serving our team or clients well and making necessary changes.
7. Continuing our individual equity goals, regular team reflections, and team problem-solving so that we can provide better support to our partners and can support/push their thinking and decisions. 

If you have any feedback on our work so far, or our goals for the upcoming year, please let me know. We’d love to learn from and with you!

We believe leaders need other leaders. Learning alongside trusted colleagues in similar roles, leaders sharpen their vision, build their skills, exchange resources, problem solve, build relationships, and feel more fulfilled in their work. Building on the successes of our other cohorts and with the generous support of the Charter School Growth Fund, Hendy is proud to introduce our inaugural Chief Academic Officer Cohort.

The 2021-2022 Chief Academic Officer Cohort members are:

• Andrew McRae – Breakthrough Schools
• Anjya Thomas – Ascend Learning
• Eric Green – Coney Island Prep
• Emily Fernandez – Hebrew Public Schools
• Jonathan McIntosh – Prospect Schools
• Katie Severn – DC Prep
• Leah Peters – KIPP Colorado

These incredible leaders have a shared commitment to working together to solve common challenges and creating more equitable opportunities for all children. Cohort members will come together for virtual monthly cohort sessions led by Hendy’s expert facilitators, who themselves have been C-level executives in high performing charter school networks. This program is unique in that it is responsive to member needs, builds lasting relationships, provides both immediately helpful resources as well as long-term, philosophical considerations, builds leader skill as team leaders and senior organization leaders, integrates the roles of talent in academics, and includes a commitment to distributing our learning to benefit a broader audience outside of the cohort (stay tuned!). Our first session is in September and we can’t wait to get started!

School leaders are busy people; we know from experience that it can be really tough to keep up on the latest trends and research when you’re in the trenches every day. We also know that being a school leader can be isolating sometimes. It’s rare that a leader gets to step out of his or her building and see what’s happening in other schools. That’s why we are so excited about the new podcast EdPOP: Education Problems of Practice. The podcast, hosted by educators, provides leaders the opportunity to get a glimpse into other schools; to learn about the latest in K-12 education; and to hear from experts – all in an easy-to-digest podcast. Educators can even earn continuing education hours for listening.

We are especially excited about the most recent episode, released today – find the full episode here or the specific segment is S1E3 Chapter 3: Journal Club. Our own Jessica Wilson was interviewed about her experiences with teacher observation rubrics, and recommendations for leaders. Teacher observation is an issue near and dear to our entire team’s hearts, and we are excited to have had the opportunity to share our experiences with others. Take a listen, and let us know what you think!