Current Role: Senior Director of Special Projects for the Mind Trust.

Fellowship Role: Senior Director of Special Projects for the Mind Trust.

Porsche Chisley is the Senior Director of Special Projects for the Mind Trust.

In this role, she supports the creation and implementation of special projects meant to expand the impact of The Mind Trust’s successful programmatic work. Her responsibilities include designing and managing initiatives that strengthen the Indianapolis education ecosystem, collaborating with key community partners and stakeholders, and supporting The Mind Trust’s mission and commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Chisley began her career in education as a Teach For America Corps member serving kindergarten students in St. Louis, Missouri. After completing the corps, she taught middle school in Central Ohio. Feeling called towards social and racial justice work in education, Porsche pursued educational leadership opportunities outside of the classroom and has held management roles in early learning, school improvement, school turnaround and innovation, and data analytics. Chisley has served on teacher-based and district leadership teams and led district turnaround efforts as a Director of Student Data. Her focus on equity and the use of evidence-based instructional practices resulted in gains on the Ohio Schools Report Card for multiple schools.

Prior to joining The Mind Trust, she worked full-time as the Director of School Improvement for a charter school authorizer serving over 13,000 students in Ohio. Chisley was a founding board member of the Columbus Urban League Young Professionals and co-chaired their Education Committee. She currently serves as a board member for The Center for Innovative Education Solutions and is Co-chair of the Indiana elearning lab sub committee for the Indianapolis 2021 College Football Playoffs Foundation. Porsche holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio State University and a Master’s of Elementary Education from University of Missouri – St. Louis. She was born and raised in Indianapolis and is excited to be back home where she and her husband, Alex, will raise their three young children.