Urban Education Advocates Consult

In 2020, amid one of the most unprecedented global disruptions in modern history, Dr. Nia Ladson founded Urban Education Advocates Consult to provide meaningful, strategic support to educators and education leaders—particularly those serving predominantly Black and Brown students in urban communities nationwide. The firm was created to advance equity and excellence by intentionally bridging research, practice, and people-centered leadership.

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Dr. Ladson brings more than a decade of experience in education, shaped early by her exposure to schools through her mother’s work and strengthened through formal training with Baltimore City Public Schools and the Urban Teachers program (now City Teaching Alliance). Through this residency-based preparation, she earned two Master of Education degrees from Lesley University in Special Education and Elementary Education. She also holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Loyola University Maryland and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Management from Drexel University, with a concentration in Educational Administration and Superintendency.

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In addition, Dr. Ladson completed the Women’s Entrepreneurship Certificate at Cornell University, further enhancing her expertise in strategic leadership and education-focused entrepreneurship.

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Since 2017, Dr. Ladson has taught graduate students as an adjunct professor, first through Johns Hopkins University in partnership with Urban Teachers and currently at American University’s School of Education. She holds certifications in Elementary and Special Education, as well as school administration licenses in both Maryland and Texas.

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Professionally, Dr. Ladson has served in multiple senior leadership roles within KIPP Texas Public Schools, including Senior Director of Secondary Humanities Curriculum and Instruction, Manager of Curriculum and Achievement for K–8 English Language Arts and Content Leader for Grades 3–10 ELA Academic Recovery. She currently serves as Senior Director of AI-Enabled Instruction, ELA at Leading Educators, while also leading Urban Education Advocates Consult as Founder and CEO and continuing her work in higher education as an Adjunct Professor.

Dr. Ladson’s work is grounded in the belief that every student deserves access to transformative instruction—and that educators and leaders deserve strategic, sustainable systems that enable that transformation to occur at scale.