Shannon Garfield, Special Education Leader Fellowship (SELF), Chief Executive Officer

Shannon Garfield is the Chief Executive Officer of the Special Education Leader Fellowship (SELF). In this role, she leads a national nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity of educators to deliver inclusive, high-impact instruction to students with disabilities. Under her leadership, SELF has driven a 90% special education teacher retention rate (compared to less than 50% in local districts), helped 83% of partner schools outperform state averages in special education outcomes, and contributed to near-zero suspension rates for students with disabilities.

Prior to SELF, Shannon served as an Assistant Superintendent at Achievement First, where she led some of the network’s most successful school turnarounds. At AF Hartford Middle School, student achievement in ELA and math rose nearly 40% in three years while suspension rates dropped from 43.5% to 1%. At AF Bridgeport Middle, students achieved the second-highest growth in the state, and at AF Amistad High School, AP pass rates increased from 37% to 52% in under two years. Across her tenure, she developed a pipeline of over 30 school leaders—more than 85% of whom identify as Black, Latine, or multiracial.

Shannon brings deep expertise in leadership development, organizational health, school management, and special education. She is an adjunct faculty member at Relay Graduate School of Education, a Leverage Leadership Institute fellow, and serves as an advisor to national efforts in education equity, including the EdResearch Advisory Board with Brown University and the Coalition for Compassionate Schools.

A first-generation college graduate from Detroit, Shannon holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Temple University, Holy Family University, and Penn State University. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut with her husband and their son, Moshe.