Michael Lamb

Executive Director, Washington, D.C.

Michael Lamb’s work is aimed at changing the odds for students in Washington, D.C. and across the country. He leads Turnaround for Children’s district, network and school partnerships, as well as all development and stakeholder engagement efforts in Washington, D.C. He also trains district, network and school leaders; teachers and social workers; and delivers professional development presentations and workshops to educators nationally.

Michael joined Turnaround in 2013 as Director of District Engagement and became Executive Director, Washington, D.C. in 2014. He came to Turnaround from the U.S. Department of Education, where he helped lead the Office for Civil Rights’ strategic planning process and technical assistance efforts starting in 2009. In 2011, he became Senior Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education on school turnaround, high school redesign and Title II programs and policies. Michael worked as an organizer on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and spent his most treasured years to date teaching seventh and eighth-graders at a turnaround school in the Harold Ickes Homes, a housing project on Chicago’s South Side.

Michael graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in public policy studies and a minor in African and African-American studies, while earning his teaching certificate. He is a member of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) School Climate Advisory Committee and Task Force in School Mental Health; the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s Mental and Behavioral Health Collaborative Working Group; and the steering committee of the Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Network

Who is your hero?

President Barack Obama. I had the opportunity to work for him for seven years, and I really admire the way he incorporated his roots as a community organizer into the biggest job in the world.

What motivates you?

The students that I taught on the South Side of Chicago motivate me.  They proved just how fast students can improve, and motivate me to make sure as many students as possible get that experience