Staff Directory

Peter Witham is a strategic education leader with more than 20 years of experience partnering with schools, districts, nonprofits, and state agencies to design, implement, and scale initiatives that improve student outcomes—particularly for those historically underserved. His work is grounded in learner-centered systems, community-driven innovation, and disciplined execution that turns vision into measurable, sustainable results.

Peter brings deep expertise across program implementation and scale, strategic partnerships, community- and stakeholder-co-design, education product and dashboard development, human capital strategy, educator effectiveness, and data-informed decision-making. His experience spans early literacy and the science of reading, competency-based and job-embedded learning models, research and evaluation, and organizational growth and capacity building.

Throughout his career, Peter has led high-impact initiatives at scale. He currently oversees a multistate early literacy tutoring initiative grounded in the science of reading, managing and supporting more than 65 educators while demonstrating consistent student growth. As the founder of a consulting firm serving more than 25 partners, he has co-created tools and strategies that reflect local priorities and advance equity through practical, community-rooted solutions.

Previously, as Assistant Commissioner for the state of Tennessee, Peter led the design and implementation of equity-centered accountability and data tools that informed policy and practice across the state. He has also delivered national technical assistance to more than 200 grantees, guided program evaluation efforts, and supported organizations in aligning strategy, implementation, and outcomes through utilization-focused research.

Known for building trust across sectors, Peter excels at translating complex challenges into actionable strategies. He leads with humility, urgency, and a steadfast focus on sustainable change—helping organizations move from intention to impact.