Courtenay Laughlin Nantz is a Senior Associate for the Riley Institute’s Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI), working to craft DLI classes across South Carolina. She joined the Riley Institute in 2008 as Project Director for the Center for Education Policy and Leadership, leading work that shared the findings of the Institute’s study of South Carolina public education with stakeholders around the state.

In 2012, she began leadership of an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant project, undertaken with KnowledgeWorks Foundation. In that role, she directed the implementation of the transformative New Tech Network model in under-resourced, historically low-performing schools in South Carolina and the expansion of the model to districts across the state.

Education

A former teacher and school administrator in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina, she holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in School Leadership and Administration from Furman. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Shenandoah University.