Peabody College Holds Largest Ed Leadership Reunion

Over 100 alumni attended the event, the best-attended reunion in program history.

Mar. 12, 2026 at 12:34am

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Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development welcomed alumni of the K-12 and Higher Education Leadership and Policy doctorate of education programs for a reunion from February 26 to 28. One hundred five alumni attended, along with current students and faculty members, making it the best-attended reunion in program history. Attendees heard from 14 Peabody faculty members who discussed salient issues facing education leaders.

Why it matters

The Education Leadership and Policy programs at Peabody College have produced many key leaders in universities, school districts, charter management organizations, government and schools. Bringing these alumni together provides an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and focus on current issues facing the educational system.

The details

Since 2007, the Education Leadership and Policy programs have offered working professionals the opportunity to complete courses during weekends to earn their degrees. At least two alumni from every cohort registered for the reunion this year. In addition to faculty presentations and panel discussions, several alumni also gave talks and led sessions, including Tara Nattrass, EdD'13, chief innovation strategist at Lenovo; Brittaney Baker, EdD'24, a Fellow at NashvillePeer; and Ryan Etheridge, EdD'24, a principal with Cleveland County Schools who helped organize the reunion and led a networking event.

  • The reunion was held from February 26 to 28, 2026.
  • The Education Leadership and Policy programs have been offered since 2007.

The players

Marisa Cannata

Professor of the practice and director of the Education Leadership and Policy program at Vanderbilt Peabody College.

Tara Nattrass

EdD'13, chief innovation strategist at Lenovo.

Brittaney Baker

EdD'24, a Fellow at NashvillePeer.

Ryan Etheridge

EdD'24, a principal with Cleveland County Schools who helped organize the reunion and led a networking event.

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What they’re saying

“We have an amazing group of alumni who are key leaders in universities, school districts, charter management organizations, government and schools. They came to Vanderbilt to become scholar-practitioners who use deep understanding of educational issues to improve outcomes and experiences for the students they serve. Bringing them together again provided an opportunity to deepen that knowledge and focus on current issues facing our educational system.”

— Marisa Cannata, Professor of the practice and director of the Education Leadership and Policy program

“The networking sessions were designed to help alumni quickly reconnect across cohorts and around topics. What stood out to me was how eager people were to learn from each other by discussing current research, exploring real leadership challenges, and sharing innovation and growth in their fields. It showed how powerful this alumni network can be when we intentionally bring leaders together to learn from one another and tackle the biggest challenges in education.”

— Ryan Etheridge, Principal with Cleveland County Schools

The takeaway

The large turnout and engaged discussions at the Peabody College Education Leadership and Policy reunion demonstrate the strength and impact of the program's alumni network. These scholar-practitioners are using their deep understanding of educational issues to drive innovation and improvements in schools, universities, and other educational organizations across the country.