Dr. Meisha Porter is the inaugural President and CEO of The Bronx Community Foundation. Dr. Porter was previously Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest school system in the nation. As the first black woman to take on this role she was responsible for educating 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools.
Dr. Porter has deep roots in the Bronx having started her career as a youth organizer which ultimately led to the creation of The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice (LGJ), the first Urban Assembly school. During her tenure at LGJ, she served as Community
Coordinator, Internship Coordinator, and taught English before becoming an Assistant Principal and then taking the helm as Principal in 2004. In addition to these roles Dr. Porter also served as Superintendent of Community School District #11 as well as Executive Superintendent for the Bronx where she was deeply invested in sharpening school leaders’ equity lens and building collaborative practices across schools. Having worked her way up through the ranks, she is exceedingly aware of the challenges city schools and communities face and has dedicated her life to improving the learning environment for all students.
As a Bronx resident, Dr. Porter looks forward to leveraging her current role to continue her deep commitment serving communities and families in the Bronx. Through her work at The Bronx Community Foundation she will lead the efforts to support and invest in community power to eradicate inequity and build sustainable futures for all Bronxites. Dr. Porter holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in Cross Cultural Literature from Hunter College, a M.A. in Educational Leadership from Mercy College and an Ed.D from Fordham University. Dr. Porter sits on the boards of the Municipal Credit Union, The Urban Assembly, New Visions for Public Schools and BuildOn.