De'Shawn Washington

Dr. Washington is the Founder and CEO of Cultivating Changemakers, an education innovation enterprise dedicated to advancing economic mobility and equity through K–12 financial literacy, literacy reform, and educator leadership development. Through his work, he has developed a vertically aligned financial literacy curriculum designed to help students build financial knowledge, identity, and agency beginning in the early elementary years.

In addition to leading Cultivating Changemakers, Dr. Washington serves as an Adjunct Professor at Bay Path University, where he teaches Education, Schools, and Culture and mentors aspiring educators while helping lead initiatives such as the Para-to-Teacher Apprenticeship Program aimed at strengthening the educator workforce pipeline.

Dr. Washington previously taught for nearly a decade in Boston and Lexington Public Schools, where his leadership in literacy instruction, equity-centered curriculum, and teacher mentorship earned him statewide and national recognition. He was named the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and received the National Education Association Teaching Excellence Award.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership and Policy, Dr. Washington has become a prominent advocate for student opportunity, educator diversity, and policies that strengthen public education systems. His work regularly brings him into conversations with policymakers, school leaders, and national education organizations focused on shaping the future of education.

Dr. Washington is also a TEDx speaker and children’s book author, known for creating stories and curriculum that empower young learners with financial literacy, leadership, and changemaker mindsets. His books, including CiCi’s Money Seeds, CiCi Waters Her Jar, and CiCi's Classroom Budget, introduce financial literacy concepts to young readers in accessible and culturally responsive ways.

Through his speaking, scholarship, and entrepreneurship, Dr. Washington works at the intersection of education, leadership, and justice, helping educators and communities cultivate the next generation of changemakers. He also developed the C.R.A.Z.Y. Framework, a leadership approach designed to help educators transform classrooms into spaces of courage, critical thinking, and meaningful change.