About CAO Academy
This Is Not a Conference
CAO Academy is an immersive strategy and execution experience for current and emerging executive academic leaders.
The Challenge
Senior academic leaders must be able to move an entire organization around the academic agenda. That means building coherence across departments, influencing beyond formal authority, developing other leaders, using evidence to make decisions, and turning strategy into disciplined execution.
The question is no longer simply, "Do I know instruction?" It's, "Can I lead the system that makes great instruction possible?" That is the work of CAO Academy.
"Can I lead the system that makes great instruction possible?"
Lead the Whole System
An immersive strategy and execution experience for current and emerging executive academic leaders.
Real Challenges
Bring the problems of practice you are actually trying to solve.
Practical Tools
Work with frameworks and tools designed to move from insight to action.
Executive Coaching
Continue the work with 90 days of individual executive coaching following the Academy.
Trusted Peers
Learn alongside academic executives who understand the complexity of leading across an entire system.
Two and a 1/2 days in the Academy are only the beginning.
faculty leadership
cao academy instructional leaders & scholars
Dr. diana fedderman
Co-Founder & Lead
Professor and former Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning with a proven track record of learning gains and closing achievement gaps.
Dr. kelly dolan-sapp
Co-Founder
Professor and social and emotional learning researcher with over 20 years of academic and culture outcomes.
Dr. nataki reynolds-gregory
Executive Coach
Executive coach and former transformation leader known for systems redesign and professional leadership development expertise.
the scip framework
Grounded in research. Tested in practice.
Create the structures, routines and coherence necessary for execution.
Build the conditions, expectations and collective responsibility that sustain improvement.
Keep teaching, learning and student outcomes at the center of executive decision-making.
Develop leaders, clarify accountability and build organizational capacity.
Ready to strengthen your institution?
Whether you're navigating a leadership transition, building executive capacity, or driving system-wide change — CAO Academy is built for the work you're actually doing.