Soenda Howella

Soenda Howell is a Partner at Charter School Growth Fund, a non-profit philanthropic venture fund that identifies the country’s best charter schools, funds their expansion, and helps to increase their impact. In this role, Soenda leads the Seed investment strategy and team that is responsible for sourcing, investing, and supporting a national portfolio of early-stage charter networks, with a focus on those led by entrepreneurs of color and those operating in communities with limited access to high-quality schools.

Previously, Soenda provided strategic support to growing, emerging regions in the KIPP network. In addition, she led and expanded three of the KIPP Foundation’s national leadership development fellowship programs for school founders – the Fisher Fellowship, the Global Fellowship, and the Miles Family Fellowship. Soenda began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member in the South Bronx and later transitioned to be a teacher and a principal in the KIPP network.

Soenda serves on the board for Girls on the Run Chicago, Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School in Mississippi, and the national advisory board of Teach For America’s Collective. She received her BA in economics from Swarthmore College and has an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management