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We are a network of leaders committed to building an equitable future.
Vice President of Training
As vice president of training, Heidi Black leads StriveTogether’s training and capacity building initiatives, including the development and implementation of learning opportunities provided by The Training Hub.
Heidi is passionate about providing access and opportunities to proven tools and resources that strengthen the capabilities of community partnerships, drive systemic change and improve outcomes for children, youth, and individuals.
Previously in her work at StriveTogether, Heidi helped to develop StriveTogether’s collaborative improvement methodology, which combines tools and techniques from continuous improvement, design thinking, Results Counts™ and equity. She received a Spotlight on Quality in Continuous Improvement from the Carnegie Foundation in 2018 for this work. While at StriveTogether, she has supported more than 30 communities in applying StriveTogether’s improvement strategies toward key outcomes including kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment and employment.
Heidi has spent her career in education. For six years, she taught fourth- and fifth-grade students in a public school district outside of Boston, Massachusetts. After leaving the classroom, Heidi moved to Washington, D.C., to work in the U.S. House of Representatives as a policy aide and scheduler. While working for multiple members of Congress, she analyzed legislation and developed policy recommendations for health and education issues. Prior to joining StriveTogether, Heidi was the Ohio education policy advocacy projects coordinator at KnowledgeWorks, responsible for education policy research, grant writing and project management, as well as managing a strategic alliance of superintendents and union presidents from Ohio’s eight urban school districts.
Heidi has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Skidmore College and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with focus on literacy from Lesley University’s School of Education. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband and twin daughters.
hear from heidi
Communities in the cradle to career network are working to improve systems that impact youth and families. Share why one adjacent sector is important to you.
Public transit! Similar to education, every person should have access to high quality transportation — be it public or personal. The ability to get to work, home, school or anywhere else should not be limited by income or zip code. Serving on the board of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority allows me to play a role in supporting that vision in Cincinnati.