Leading Now

What Leading Now does

Leading Now is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2021 by Mora Segal and Caitlin Sullivan to provide peer-driven professional development for K-12 superintendents. Headquartered in Denver with a distributed team of approximately six to seven core staff, the organization serves a community of 330+ superintendents across nearly 40 states, against a U.S. total of roughly 13,000 superintendents. Its core offering is a five to six-month Learning Cohort focused on strategic communications, blending expert speakers, peer consultancies, one in-person convening, and virtual sessions over approximately fifteen weeks. Supplementary programming includes monthly expert briefings, a password-protected resource library, Slack-based peer channels, an annual Summer Gathering, just-in-time Strategic Advisor Support, and topical learning series covering strategic budgeting, AI readiness, and communications training.

The product surface is delivered entirely through standard SaaS and productivity tooling — Zoom for virtual sessions, Slack for community channels, Google Calendar/iCalendar for event distribution, Calendly for intro-call scheduling, and LinkedIn OpenID Connect for member authentication. There is no proprietary technology platform; differentiation comes from curated content, partnership-driven expert access, and the community itself. Distribution is direct to individual superintendents through an application-based funnel (intro call via Calendly, short application, cohort placement), with no intermediaries, resellers, or paid acquisition channels.

As a nonprofit, Leading Now provides all membership services free of charge to superintendents and their districts. Operating revenue is sourced from grants, donations, and philanthropic support rather than member fees; no specific funding amounts are disclosed. Growth is community-led and event-driven, with referral, testimonial content, LinkedIn presence, and a regular cadence of cohort kickoffs, virtual sessions, and gatherings serving as the primary acquisition and retention mechanisms.

Name

Leading Now

Legal name

Leading Now

Website

https://leadingnow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Leading Now is a nonprofit founded in 2021 that provides free peer-driven professional development for K-12 superintendents. Its signature offering is a multi-month strategic communications cohort, supplemented by briefings, an online community, and topical learning series.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Leadership Professional Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Function & Learning Coaching (Organization/ADHD Coaching) (EDAJALAI)

Keywords

• Superintendent professional development
• K-12 leadership training
• Peer learning cohorts
• Strategic communications training
• Education nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership (Free to Members): All membership benefits are provided at no cost to superintendents and their districts. The cohort experience, direct support, virtual community access, and resources are free. As a nonprofit organization, Leading Now funds its operations through grants, donations, and philanthropic support rather than member fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leading Now provides free peer-driven learning cohorts and a virtual community for K-12 superintendents, centered on strategic communications, trust-building, and public engagement. Its signature offering is a five to six-month cohort combining expert speakers, peer consultancies, one in-person convening, and virtual sessions, supplemented by monthly briefings, a resource library, and just-in-time crisis communications support. All programming is provided at no cost to superintendents or their districts, funded through grants and philanthropic support.

Product overview

Leading Now operates as a unified professional development and community platform for K-12 superintendents, combining its core Learning Cohorts program (a five to six-month cohort experience focused on strategic communications with expert speakers and peer consultancies) with a suite of supplementary modules including Monthly Briefing Sessions, a Virtual Community with Slack channels and a resource library, Summer Gatherings, Strategic Advisor Support, AI Readiness Workshops, Strategic Budgeting Learning Series, Communications Training Sessions, and an Executive Assistant Community. The platform's primary value proposition centers on strategic communications skill development, trust-building, and public engagement within a peer-driven community of practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Learning Cohorts Five to six-month cohort programs focused on strategic communications, offering a blend of expert speakers, peer consultancies, one in-person convening, and four virtual sessions over 15 weeks. This is the signature entry-point offering for K-12 superintendent members.
• Virtual Community Password-protected resource library, Slack channels for peer and expert connectivity, and monthly briefing sessions providing ongoing support and knowledge sharing among superintendent members.
• Monthly Briefing Sessions Regular virtual sessions featuring expert speakers and timely topics such as education politics, public engagement, and policy updates for all Leading Now members.
• Resource Library Communications checklists, leadership values exercises, stakeholder mapping tools, and school board collaboration resources available to members.
• Summer Gathering Annual in-person convening bringing together all Leading Now superintendent members for networking, learning, and community building.
• Strategic Advisor Support Just-in-time strategic communications support available to members for navigating particularly intense or complex situations in their districts.
• AI Readiness Workshop Workshop series focused on AI readiness for superintendents and their technology teams, offered in partnership with aiEDU.
• Strategic Budgeting Learning Series Three-part learning series on strategic budgeting for district finance, featuring partners like ERS, Edunomics, and SteadfastK12.
• Communications Training Sessions Multi-level communications training (Comms 101, Comms 201) covering topics like budget communications and school communication audits for members and their communications staff.
• Executive Assistant Community Sessions and training specifically for executive assistants of Leading Now members, focused on strategic partnership and professional development.

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BellwethercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAndrew Rotherham, Co-Founder & Senior Partner at Bellwether, serves on the Leading Now Board of Directors. Bellwether is a national nonprofit focused on helping education systems better serve students and communities. Rotherham leads education politics briefings and sessions for Leading Now members, providing policy expertise and strategic guidance.
• Transcend EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJosh Edelman, Chief Network Officer at Transcend, serves on the Leading Now Board of Directors. Transcend builds and strengthens a national community of educators and school system leaders working to advance education innovation. Edelman brings network-building expertise to Leading Now's community model.
• Harvard University - The Collaborative on Political Leadership in the SuperintendencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJennifer Cheatham from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education serves as an advisor to Leading Now. She leads sessions on superintendents' political leadership and contributes expertise on political leadership in the superintendency role.
• Edunomics Lab at Georgetown UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdunomics Lab contributes to Leading Now's Strategic Budgeting Learning Series, providing expertise on student-centered budgeting and education finance. Featured in multiple sessions helping superintendents navigate financial uncertainty.
• TNTPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project) partners with Leading Now on learning series covering topics like opportunity makers and Algebra I student success research. Provides research-based content for superintendent professional development.
• Digital PromiseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital Promise leads AI Learning Series sessions for Leading Now members, helping superintendents understand and prepare for AI in education. Contributes to AI readiness programming with technology expertise.
• aiEDUminorStrategic or Co-development PartneraiEDU partners with Leading Now to deliver AI Readiness Workshops, helping superintendents and their technology teams prepare for AI integration in their districts.
• ThoughtExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThoughtExchange partners on monthly briefings covering public engagement and leadership efficiency, providing tools and strategies for effective stakeholder engagement.
• Learning HeroesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning Heroes contributes to monthly briefings on what parents value most, helping superintendents understand parent perspectives and communication needs.
• ImmSchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImmSchools partners on special briefings about creating safe and welcoming schools for immigrant students, helping superintendents navigate immigration-related communication challenges.
• Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard CEPR partners on panel discussions about district leadership, including Districts on the Rise recognition, bringing research and policy expertise to Leading Now programming.
• Education Recovery Resources / ERSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS (Education Recovery Strategies) contributes to Strategic Budgeting Learning Series, helping superintendents with student-centered budgeting approaches.
• SteadfastK12minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteadfastK12 partners on Strategic Budgeting Learning Series, contributing expertise on financial planning and budgeting for school districts.
• Timely SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTimely Schools contributes to Strategic Budgeting Learning Series, providing financial planning resources for superintendents.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leadingnow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leading Now