EMPOWERING TO LEAD
Hello! Welcome to my blog where I share principles, processes, structures and practices to empower leaders towards greater effectiveness. Whether you are a seasoned leader looking to ‘sharpen the saw’ or a newer leader just getting started on your leadership journey this blog has something for you. Empowering others to lead has added such value to my life, and I love having the opportunity to build a community of learning leaders with a shared interest in continuous improvement. Let's grow together!
HOW TO USE THIS BLOG
YOUR TIME IS VALUABLE
(1) So each post takes about one-minute to read.
(2) Blog posts are organized by topics so you can easily locate the ‘right now’ insight to enhance your leadership effectiveness.
(3) Add comments to posts and become a member of our community of learning leaders. The greatest insights come from collective expertise.
(4) Check out our Monthly Leadership Profile and Read for a deeper leadership dive and reflection.
FEBRUARY LEADERSHIP PROFILE
Dr. Julia Rafal-Baer
Juilia Rafal-Baer is co-founder and CEO of ILO Group, a women-owned, leadership-focused education policy and strategy firm. She is also founder and CEO of Women Leading Ed, a national nonprofit network of women education leaders, and co-founder and Partner of The Forum for Educational Leadership. She is a trusted confidante to the nation’s most effective state education leaders and superintendents, directly coaching over 75 leaders into the superintendent and state commissioner roles. Dr. Rafal-Baer frequently speaks and writes on the need to advance women leaders in senior roles. Most recently she has launched A Bold Vision for Education Reform.
Previously, Dr. Rafal-Baer served as COO at Chiefs for Change, where she helped transform the organization into a high-impact national nonprofit. She raised over $100M and led teams to execute on 100% of grant commitments. Julia began her long career in education more than twenty years ago as a special education teacher in Bronx, NY. She previously served as Assistant Commissioner of the NY State Education Department under Dr. John B King, Jr where she was responsible for the strategy, management, and implementation of teacher and leader initiatives under the state’s Race to the Top and Teacher Incentive Fund grants, as well as other statewide initiatives, managing more than $150 million in federal funds.
In 2024, Dr. Rafal-Baer was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to a second four-year term to the National Assessment Governing Board. In 2022, Dr. Rafal-Baer was named a Pahara Institute Fellow. Dr. Rafal-Baer holds a B.A. in Psychology from George Washington University where she graduated summa cum laude and a dual M.S. from CUNY: Lehman College in Special Education and Childhood Education. She is also an alum of the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar and completed a Master of Philosophy in Education Research and a Ph.D. focused in comparative education policy.
Julia's favorite leadership quote:
"Competing at the olympic level involves immense pressure. Yet it's likely this very pressure that propels athletes to reach new heights. In leadership roles, high-pressure situations often signal opportunities to make significant impacts. Embracing pressure as a privilege can transform challenges into catalysts for growth." -Julia Rafal-Baer
_edited.jpg)
Gallery of Leaders
Keep in touch with the leaders we have profiled. These trailblazers continue to set the pace in their respective fields of expertise.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU READ
LEADERSHIP READ OF THE MONTH
Long Walk to Freedom
-Nelson Mandela
"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."
TODD ANTHONY WALKER
As a chief officer, advocate and educator it is clear to me that leadership matters. I started Empowering to Lead with the goal of offering readers a glimpse into my thoughts and experiences about leadership. What started out as weekly posts has evolved into a dynamic site packed with information about various leadership topics that are near and dear to me. Take some time to explore the blog and see for yourself what sparks your next level of growth. Read on and lean in!
SHARE YOUR RESOURCES
Interested in sharing your leadership services or resources with Empowering to Lead readers? Please leave your information and we will follow up with you.