SustainED Leaders is a nonprofit organization led by passionate educators who have extensive experience partnering with schools and districts to implement research and evidence-based practices that accelerate all students' learning.

What Makes Us Unique

Customized Solutions

We partner with leaders to design and implement customized solutions based on the unique context of the school and district.

Evidence & Research-Based Practices

We leverage research and evidence-based practices in our support and development of leaders and teachers.

Experience Leading Continuous Improvement

Our team has extensive experience supporting leaders to implement high-leverage practices that enhances the quality of teaching and learning for all students.

Our Team

Jacob Stainbrook

CEO

Before co-founding SustainED Leaders, Jacob served in senior leadership roles at multiple school districts. He has coached and managed leaders as the Vice President of Schools at IDEA Tarrant County and as a Managing Director at Uplift Education. As a principal, he led the turnaround of a low-performing middle school in Dallas, Texas, transforming it into one of the highest-rated middle schools in Texas. Jacob has worked as a national consultant at TNTP and taught instructional leadership courses to graduate students as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University.

Rachel Yearwood

Leadership Development Director

Rachel Yearwood is a Leadership Development Director for SustainED Leaders. Before this role, she founded and led a campus as an Academic Director with Uplift Education for six years. While obtaining her Master's degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education, Rachel was an elementary school principal intern in Cambridge Public Schools. She started her educational career in Spring Branch ISD where she was able to teach middle school Science, lead as Department Chair, and work with the district curriculum over a five-year time span. She has received a B.S in Biology from Prairie View A&M University and an M.Ed. in Science Education from the University of Houston.

Grace Jackson

Leadership Development Director

Grace Jackson is a Leadership Development Director for SustainED Leaders. Prior to this role, Grace worked at Uplift Education for 10 years, where she served as a PYP Dean and Academic Director. In addition to serving as a school leader, Grace also worked as a Residency Mentor for the Summit Learning Teacher Residency program, where she coached a cohort of new teachers toward earning their credentials. After graduating from the University of Florida, Grace moved to Dallas to begin her career in education as a middle school science teacher at KIPP TRUTH Academy. She received her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Naima Blakes

Program Director

Prior to becoming a Program Director for SustainED Leaders, Naima worked as a school leader with Uplift Education. As a school leader at Uplift, she revamped teacher and leader development to increase the effectiveness of professional learning communities on campus and she created strategic school-wide learning acceleration plans that resulted in the campus repeatedly outpacing the district in yearly reading and math growth. Before serving in campus leadership roles, Ms. Blakes worked as a Math Intervention Specialist and Science Teacher in the states of Texas and Nevada. Naima holds a B.S. in Biology from Howard University and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Caitlin Wright

Leadership Development Director

Caitlin Wright is a Leadership Development Director for SustainED Leaders. She graduated from Grambling State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education. Since then, she has led and taught students in grades PreK-8 for over twenty years. While working for San Bernardino City Unified School District, she taught dual immersion, grades K-6, served as campus Admin Designee, and on district curriculum committees. After moving to Dallas, Caitlin completed the Ed Fellows program with Teaching Trust. Most recently, she was with Uplift Education for eight years where she served as Interventionist, MYP Dean, and a founding Academic Director.

Aaron Joseph

Leadership Development Director

Aaron Joseph is a Leadership Development Director for SustainED Leaders. Previously, he served as a principal, where he led his school to become the top performer in Dallas ISD for positive culture and climate and earned the Gold Ribbon Award from Children At Risk for outstanding student achievement and school effectiveness. He also successfully converted Edna Rowe Elementary into Dallas ISD’s eighth Montessori Choice School (Buckner Terrace Montessori). Aaron’s career includes roles as a network coordinator, assistant principal, instructional coach, and teacher. He holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Urban School Leadership from Southern Methodist University (SMU).

Marina Guerra

Leadership Development Director

Marina Guerra is a Leadership Development Director at SustainED Leaders. Before joining the organization she served in Dallas ISD as an administrator, instructional coach, and teacher. As a school administrator, she worked in the district’s Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) initiative to lead accelerated school turnaround. In her leadership tenure, she was part of a team that was responsible for leading a school from an “Improvement Required" to a “B” rating in one academic school year. Most recently she served as the administrator for the district’s highest-performing P-Tech program, an initiative that provides students the opportunity to earn their associate degrees during high school. Marina holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from Texas Christian University and an M.Ed. from Southern Methodist University in Educational Leadership with an Urban School Specialization.

Tamara Phillips

Leadership Development Director

Tamara Phillips is a Leader Development Director at SustainED. Before joining SustainED, she held key roles in education as both a teacher and leader. Tamara spent eight years teaching Middle School Science, where she developed a passion for STEM education that went beyond the classroom. She served as a school leader with Uplift Education for ten years, where she focused on creating an engaging learning environment and building a strong school culture to support student achievement. Additionally, Tamara contributed to curriculum development, authoring science curricula designed to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Her dedication to STEM also led her to collaborate with the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University, where she designed and facilitated forensic science camps for students.

Melinda Cardenas

Manager of Operations & Strategy

Melinda Cardenas is the Manager of Operations and Strategy at SustainED Leaders. Before this role, she served as a Campus Coordinator at Dallas ISD, working with teachers and administrators to build thriving school cultures. Melinda began her educational career as a Secondary Science Teacher and Campus Instructional Coach, guiding teachers in delivering STEM education and leading through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her career in education, Melinda worked at Lockheed Martin, driving change management and quality improvement in various lines of business, including satellite, defense, and software production. Melinda holds a B.S. in Supply Chain Management & Marketing from the University of Maryland, an M.Ed in Secondary Science from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.Ed in Urban Educational Leadership from Southern Methodist University.