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Lesley Esters Redwine currently serves as the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of InspirED Education, a 501c(3) nonprofit charter management organization in Detroit, MI. In 2015, InspirED provides management in the areas of finance, human capital, academics, specialized services for students with special needs, school operations, and data analytics to support traditional public and charter schools. Prior to InspirED, Ms. Redwine was recruited to return to her hometown in Detroit to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of New Urban Learning which managed University YES Academy and University Prep Schools. In this role, as a turnaround strategy Ms. Redwine opened an elementary school, and received nearly $800,000 in funding to launch a high school.
Prior to joining New Urban Learning, Ms. Redwine worked for Achievement First, a high-performing charter management organization, then operating schools in New York and Connecticut. As Vice President of External Relations at Achievement First, Lesley was a valued senior leader and visible spokesperson for the organization, managing new school and site development, authorizer relations and compliance, student admissions, governance, legislative relations, and parent advocacy.
Ms. Redwine has also served as the President and CEO of the New York Chapter of the Black Alliance for Educational Opportunities. Prior to BAEO, Lesley served as the Project Director for Agenda for Children Tomorrow, a multi-million dollar community collaborative project in the South Bronx. In 2000, Lesley was selected as a National Urban Fellows where she served as a Special Assistant to a member of the New York City Board of Education. She has also served as a Policy Analyst at the Afterschool Corporation and an Adjunct Professor in non-profit management at City College in New York. Ms. Redwine is also an attorney and formerly worked at Lewis & Munday, P.C. and in a private criminal defense practice. Ms. Redwine also spent time working in schools across Detroit including Mumford High School, Pershing High School, Henry Ford High School, Taft Middle School, and Phoenix Academy.
Since returning to Detroit, Ms. Redwine has been awarded Crain Communication’s 40 Under 40 Award, participated in the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Detroit XXXIV class. Ms. Redwine was selected to participate in the in the founding cohort of the Charter Network Accelerator, an organizational committed to developing high-quality charter management organizations across the nation. Ms. Redwine is also an adjunct law professor at Detroit Mercy Law specializing in Law and Education.
Ms. Redwine earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan, J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy, M.P.A. from the Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs. Ms. Redwine will complete her certification in education leadership in the summer of 2016. Ms. Redwine’s greatest joy is her family which includes her husband, Eric, three children and her Portie, Paris.
