Loading — Still We Build, the website of Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
About For Decision Makers Ways to Engage Watch & Listen Independent Coverage Education & Health Impact In the Field Speaking Publications Work With Dr. Pruitt
Dr. Cheryl Pruitt · Executive Advisor · Board Director · Keynote Speaker

Still We Build.

  • We build leaders.
  • We build businesses.
  • We build schools.
  • We build communities.
  • We build history.
  • We build hope.
  • We build futures.

Because institutions do not change history. People who build them do.

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt partners with visionary leaders, organizations, and communities to transform complex challenges into lasting opportunity. Across education, healthcare, workforce, and civic leadership, she helps people build institutions worthy of the futures they are creating.

Elected school board member. Former superintendent. Hospital board director. Executive advisor to CEOs, boards, and public leaders nationwide.

Explore the Work Work With Dr. Pruitt
Dr. Cheryl Pruitt Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
Work With Dr. Cheryl Pruitt

Organizations don't hire Dr. Cheryl Pruitt simply to solve today's problem. They engage her to build institutions that continue to thrive long after the crisis has passed.

When organizations face their most important moments, they bring in leadership capable of moving institutions forward.

Organizations partner with Dr. Pruitt to:

  • Lead executive strategy retreats
  • Guide institutional transformation
  • Facilitate board governance
  • Deliver keynote addresses
  • Design workforce and education strategies
  • Advise healthcare and community initiatives
Schedule a Conversation

For those ready to build something that outlives them.

A Clarion Call

A Capstone Project Like No Other

Not another assignment. Not another research paper.

Build something that changes lives.

  • Build a school.
  • Build a nonprofit.
  • Build a business.
  • Build a movement.
  • Build a community initiative.
  • Build policy.
  • Build the future.
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Across science, education, healthcare, and community leadership
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Hospital governance and community-health leadership, Methodist Hospitals of Northern Indiana
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In spending reductions while stabilizing a district's finances
Multi-State
Education, workforce, and community-impact initiatives
As Featured In
TEDx Talks Society of Innovators Award Forbes 50 Over 50 Quentin P. Smith Education Award
Consulting & Speaking

Ways to Engage

Six ways organizations bring her in — from a single conversation to a multi-year advisory relationship.

01

Executive Advisory

Ongoing strategic counsel for CEOs, superintendents, and boards navigating complex transformation, governance risk, or organizational turnaround.

Request a Proposal →
Now Booking 2027
02

Keynote Speaking

For healthcare conferences, foundations, corporate leadership summits, universities, and national associations — built around authentic, accountable leadership.

Request a Proposal →
03

Board Advisory

Experienced board-level counsel in governance, healthcare, education, nonprofit strategy, and organizational transformation for boards seeking a seasoned voice.

Request a Proposal →
04

Institutional Transformation Assessment

A structured engagement — stakeholder interviews, findings, an executive briefing, and a roadmap — for organizations that need clarity before they commit to a plan.

Request a Proposal →
05

Leadership Retreats

"Leading Through Complexity" — a one- or two-day executive retreat for leadership teams facing high-stakes decisions and organizational change.

Request a Proposal →
06

Executive Coaching

Direct, ongoing coaching for CEOs, presidents, superintendents, and executive teams — not general leadership coaching, but counsel from someone who has led at that level.

Request a Proposal →
Watch & Listen

See her on stage. Hear her tell it straight.

Her TEDx talk on authenticity, and a recent podcast conversation on crisis leadership — in her own words.

TEDx
TEDxGary — How Authenticity Makes You a Better Leader | Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
TEDxGary

"How Authenticity Makes You a Better Leader"

Dr. Pruitt doesn't sanitize her own story to make a point about leadership — she uses it.

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▶ Watch on YouTube
Podcast
Podcast appearance — Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
Podcast Appearance

Crisis Leadership & Authenticity

Dr. Pruitt joins the conversation to talk crisis leadership, authenticity, and what it really takes to lead through public scrutiny.

▶ Watch on YouTube
From Scientific Research to Systems Leadership

Three arcs, one career

Scientific rigor. System-level educational leadership. National advisory and board leadership. From research at St. Jude to leading a major public school system through a complex financial and academic turnaround, she now applies that experience to the interconnected challenges facing schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and communities.

Tap a stage below to read more.

Credentials & Governance

SUPERINTENDENT LICENSURELewis University
EARLY CAREERScience, research, teaching, and school leadership — IL, IN, TN
CURRENTVP, Pathways to College
BOARDMethodist Hospitals of Northern Indiana
SCHOOL BOARDElected, Kankakee School District 111, Illinois
FOUNDERVOICESpeaks LLC · Co-Founder, NAALI
EXPERTISEMicroschool development & implementation — New Schools, New High School Movement
HONORQuentin P. Smith Education Award (awarded once per decade)

Scientific Foundation

  • Cancer research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  • Peer-reviewed publications — Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Clinical Investigation
  • Scientific methodology & data analysis
  • Laboratory science background applied to organizational diagnosis
Independent Coverage

Her leadership, documented by others

During her tenure leading the Gary Community School Corporation through fiscal restructuring, her work was the subject of independent reporting and state-level review — not just her own account of it.

"Dr. Cheryl Pruitt stands out for many Gary residents — even among the city's famous children and benefactors, including Oprah Winfrey, the Jackson 5, and Magic Johnson."

— Rachel Morello, StateImpact Indiana, Community of Opportunity

"The word 'busy' doesn't even begin to describe Pruitt's schedule."

— Rachel Morello, StateImpact Indiana, Community of Opportunity

"She made a way out of no way. Everybody thought it would be over — they thought Gary Community School Corp was about to shut down. It's still standing."

— Ellen Young, Gary parent of 19 years, quoted in Community of Opportunity
StateImpact Indiana

"Community of Opportunity" — an in-depth profile of her administration and the Gary Community School Corporation.

Read the coverage → GreatNews.Life

Independent profile of her career, from scientific research to district leadership.

Read the profile → Indiana State Board of Education

Official state record of district turnaround presentations during her tenure.

View the record →

Her leadership has also been tested publicly — a chapter she speaks about directly in her TEDx talk.

In Her Own Words
"

When I reflect on my lived experiences and the work of my life, one truth keeps surfacing — the same truth at the heart of stories like Michael Lewis's The Blind Side, of Malcolm Gladwell's writing on opportunity and success, and of everything I have tried to build around equity and human dignity:

"The measure of leadership is not how effectively we need systems, it is how courageously we transform them so every person is seen, valued, and given the opportunity to realize their fullest potential."

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
— Cheryl
Education & Health

Education is a driver of health

Quality healthcare begins long before a patient enters a hospital. Literacy, education, workforce access, housing, and economic mobility all shape whether people can understand health information, obtain preventive care, and advocate for themselves and their families.

Education builds futures. Futures build nations.

Scale of Leadership

A career spent leading at scale

Career-wide estimates across the districts, schools, and programs she has led — approximate totals, not a single-year or single-organization count.

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Students Reached

Approximate career-wide total across Gary Community School Corporation, Proviso Township High Schools District 209, Pathways to College, and affiliated programs — not a single-year figure.

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Staff Members Led

Approximate total teachers, administrators, and support staff directed across the districts and organizations she has led.

Both figures are approximate, self-reported estimates pending final source documentation.
Client Outcomes

Organizations Engage Dr. Pruitt To:

Executives don't buy inspiration. They buy outcomes — here's the record behind hers.

  • ✓

    Recover systems in crisis

    Gary Community School Corporation turnaround, 2012–2018

  • ✓

    Improve graduation and academic outcomes

    Graduation 51.4% → 85.7%; Algebra proficiency 4% → 56% in one year

  • ✓

    Stabilize institutional finances

    $85M in spending restructured amid a district financial crisis

  • ✓

    Lead through public scrutiny and crisis

    The subject of her TEDx talk and IGI Global book chapter, "Leadership Under Siege"

  • ✓

    Launch and accredit new schools

    Scholar's Compass Leadership Academy — Gary's newest provisionally accredited high school

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    Build workforce and literacy pipelines

    NAALI, 100 Families Strong, The Workforce & Leadership Continuum

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    Govern safety-net healthcare systems

    Board Director, Methodist Hospitals of Northern Indiana

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    Design AI-ready education strategy

    AI Toolkit for K-12 Educators, built for the Anniston City Schools engagement

National & International Footprint

Work spanning eight U.S. states, one territory, and international partnerships

Tap a code to see the engagement.

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt receiving flowers from students in China

Dr. Pruitt receiving flowers from students in China, during the cross-cultural educational exchange connecting Indiana schools with international partners.

In the Field

Ballfields, classrooms, and international exchanges.

First pitch — bringing the same energy to the ballfield as the boardroom.
First pitch — bringing the same energy to the ballfield as the boardroom.
On stage, mid-address.
On stage, mid-address.
Story time — literacy has always been personal, not just policy.
Story time — literacy has always been personal, not just policy.
At the podium.
At the podium.
With students representing partner nations around the world.
With students representing partner nations around the world.
With participants of Girls on the Run, celebrating a finish-line medal.
With participants of Girls on the Run, celebrating a finish-line medal.
In the classroom, one student at a time.
In the classroom, one student at a time.
With students in a culinary and hospitality program.
With students in a culinary and hospitality program.
At an international cultural and arts event.
At an international cultural and arts event.
Students who wanted a photo together, simply because they believed in her.
Students who wanted a photo together, simply because they believed in her.
Doctoral regalia at commencement.
Doctoral regalia at commencement.
Carrying the words that carried her — Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Carrying the words that carried her — Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Preparing outreach bags at a community health and wellness event, Gary Public Transportation Corp.
Preparing outreach bags at a community health and wellness event, Gary Public Transportation Corp.
Receiving the Quentin P. Smith Education Award, 2025.
Receiving the Quentin P. Smith Education Award, 2025.
Honored at the 2025 Gary Alumni Honors.
Honored at the 2025 Gary Alumni Honors.
Presenting UNSHAKEN to a live audience.
Presenting UNSHAKEN to a live audience.
First pitch — bringing the same energy to the ballfield as the boardroom.
First pitch — bringing the same energy to the ballfield as the boardroom.
On stage, mid-address.
On stage, mid-address.
Story time — literacy has always been personal, not just policy.
Story time — literacy has always been personal, not just policy.
At the podium.
At the podium.
With students representing partner nations around the world.
With students representing partner nations around the world.
With participants of Girls on the Run, celebrating a finish-line medal.
With participants of Girls on the Run, celebrating a finish-line medal.
In the classroom, one student at a time.
In the classroom, one student at a time.
With students in a culinary and hospitality program.
With students in a culinary and hospitality program.
At an international cultural and arts event.
At an international cultural and arts event.
Students who wanted a photo together, simply because they believed in her.
Students who wanted a photo together, simply because they believed in her.
Doctoral regalia at commencement.
Doctoral regalia at commencement.
Carrying the words that carried her — Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Carrying the words that carried her — Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Preparing outreach bags at a community health and wellness event, Gary Public Transportation Corp.
Preparing outreach bags at a community health and wellness event, Gary Public Transportation Corp.
Receiving the Quentin P. Smith Education Award, 2025.
Receiving the Quentin P. Smith Education Award, 2025.
Honored at the 2025 Gary Alumni Honors.
Honored at the 2025 Gary Alumni Honors.
Presenting UNSHAKEN to a live audience.
Presenting UNSHAKEN to a live audience.
Dr. Cheryl Pruitt delivering a keynote address at the podium
On the keynote stage — the same directness she brings to the boardroom.
Speaking

Signature keynotes

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt Dr. Cheryl Pruitt Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
Signature Keynote

Healthy Communities Require Educated Communities

How literacy, educational attainment, and institutional trust shape health outcomes.

Keynote Theme

Crisis Doesn't Break Leaders. It Reveals Them.

One theme in her speaking portfolio — leading through public, high-stakes disruption.

Executive Advisory

For CEOs, Boards & Executives

Working directly with hospital executives, school system leaders, foundation boards, and government leaders.

TEDxGary

"How Authenticity Makes You a Better Leader"

Dr. Pruitt doesn't sanitize her own story to make a point about leadership — she uses it. Watch the full talk in Watch & Listen, above.

▶ Watch on YouTube
Published Chapter · Keynote Theme

Leadership Under Siege: Intersectionality, Crisis Management, and the Global Impact of State Takeovers in Education

Dr. Pruitt's 2025 chapter — published in Cultivating Inclusive Educational Leadership Ecosystems (IGI Global) — examines state intervention in public education through a case study of Gary Community School Corporation, situating her experience within the documented pattern of state takeovers disproportionately affecting Black-led districts.

State takeovers disproportionately affect Black-led districts.

Public accountability systems can obscure structural inequities.

Women leaders often face heightened scrutiny during institutional crisis.

Community voice and local governance are critical to sustainable reform.

Core arguments from Dr. Pruitt's published chapter — see Publications for the full citation.

Books & Publications

Ideas that shape institutions

Her writing carries the same throughline as her leadership — human dignity alongside accountability.

The Child Behind the Data — Dr. Cheryl Pruitt
Signature Work · Featured

The Child Behind the Data

"She doesn't know she's a data point yet. Lead like she's watching."

A call to leaders in education, healthcare, and beyond to reimagine leadership by placing human dignity alongside accountability — the throughline connecting Human Dignity Literacy™ and every institution Dr. Pruitt has helped transform.

Learn More
UNSHAKEN book cover

UNSHAKEN

Eric Kellogg & Cheryl Pruitt

Lessons & stories of leadership when the stakes are highest — navigating crisis without losing clarity, and rebuilding institutions when trust is broken.

Learn More →
Human Dignity Literacy book cover

Human Dignity Literacy™

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt

Leading Schools with Purpose, Presence, and Power. A leadership framework built on Rooted Presence, Emotional Sovereignty, Cultural Authority, Liberatory Learning, and Justice-Centered Evidence. Published by NAALI Press.

Learn More →
Cultivating Inclusive Educational Leadership Ecosystems book cover

Leadership Under Siege

Peer-Reviewed Chapter · IGI Global, 2025

Intersectionality, crisis management, and the global impact of state takeovers in education — in Cultivating Inclusive Educational Leadership Ecosystems: Women Trailblazers and the Path Forward.

Read the Chapter →

"My writing reflects the same philosophy that guides my leadership: transforming systems while never losing sight of the people they are meant to serve."

Dr. Cheryl Pruitt as a young girl in elementary school Dr. Cheryl Pruitt today
→
Full Circle

The child behind the data has a face. Once, it was hers.

Long before she was a superintendent, an author, or a board director, she was a little girl in an elementary school classroom. That's not the child on the cover of her book — but it's the reason every child is. Dr. Pruitt has never forgotten what it felt like to be the one behind the data, and The Child Behind the Data is her promise that no child she serves will be forgotten either.

Executive Strategy & Advisory Firm

VOICESpeaks

VOICESpeaks is Dr. Pruitt's executive strategy and organizational transformation firm, advising education systems, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and public leaders on governance, crisis navigation, and measurable implementation.

Mission-Driven Nonprofit · Co-Founded 2020

NAALI

The National African American Literacy Institute advances literacy as a foundation for educational attainment, health, economic mobility, and family well-being, and assists in creating new schools through accreditation and planning.

LiteracyHealth LiteracyEducational Equity Economic MobilityLeadershipFamily EngagementCommunity Wellness
Co-Founded & Architected

Scholar's Compass Leadership Academy

Dr. Pruitt and Dr. Eric Kellogg co-founded Scholar's Compass Leadership Academy together and co-lead it through provisional accreditation — a "high school of the future" built on the belief driving all her institutional work: "I've never been in an organization where education hasn't improved it — education is the key."

Now an Indiana State Provisional Accredited Private High School — Gary's newest, currently enrolling grades 9–12, with an AI-integrated classroom model and pathways through college credentials, skilled trades, and entrepreneurship.

scla.io ↗
For Decision Makers

Why Organizations Hire
Dr. Cheryl Pruitt

Superintendents. Hospital CEOs. University presidents. Mayors. Foundation presidents. Board chairs. You are not looking to browse a website — you want one answer: why should I hire her?

Superintendents & School Boards

She has run the job. As superintendent of Gary Community School Corporation, she navigated public scrutiny, stabilized district finances by restructuring $85M in spending, and moved graduation rates from 51.4% to 85.7%. She knows what a board needs from a turnaround leader, because she has been the one delivering the turnaround.

Hospital & Health System Executives

As Board Director of Methodist Hospitals of Northern Indiana, she brings systems-level governance experience to safety-net institutions serving Medicaid and Medicare populations — where financial pressure, community trust, and clinical mission all have to hold together at once.

University & College Presidents

Her scholarship and practice sit at the same table: faculty with the AASA Urban Superintendents Academy at Howard University, lecturer at Purdue University Northwest, and a published IGI Global book chapter on leadership under institutional siege. She translates research into decisions boards can act on.

Mayors & Public Officials

Her work connects literacy, workforce readiness, and family financial stability into a single civic strategy — through NAALI and the 100 Families Strong initiative — because she has seen firsthand how a community's institutions rise or fall together.

Foundation & Philanthropic Leaders

She has managed technical-assistance engagements against formal funder deliverables and compliance timelines, and delivered tools ahead of schedule. Funders get a partner who treats grant accountability as seriously as they do.

Board Chairs & Governance Committees

From hospital governance to district equity and compliance steering committees, she builds the charters, structures, and habits that let a board actually govern — not just meet.

Schedule a Conversation
Still We Build

Let's Build What Comes Next.

You've seen the record. Now let's talk about what your organization is ready to build — in leadership, in strategy, in the people you serve.

Work With Dr. Pruitt

Executive advisory · Board & governance service · Keynotes & leadership development · Education transformation · Media & expert commentary