Vanessa Bangser

About Vanessa Bangser

I’m increasingly interested in the gap between how self-aware leaders believe they are and how they actually show up in their systems.It’s a gap I continue to notice in myself. In complex environments, it quietly shapes decisions, culture, and outcomes.As Chief Operating Officer of LeveragED Foundation, I work at the intersection of strategy, self-awareness, and organizational design. Since co-founding the organization in 2018, I’ve helped design and scale pro-bono leadership programs for superintendents, nonprofit executives, founders, and system leaders across the country.Much of my work focuses on building the capacity required in complex environments - the ability to pause before acting, notice patterns, hold ambiguity without collapsing into premature certainty, and examine how working styles and blind spots shape the systems leaders oversee.My background in psychology and mental health continues to shape how I approach leadership, feedback, and behavior inside systems.Alongside program design, I lead cross-program strategy and performance systems as LeveragED has grown from three founding team members to a twenty-person national team operating multiple leadership programs.Earlier in my career, I founded and scaled a high-performing elementary school and later led network-wide strategy across multiple schools - experiences that continue to inform how I think about power, perfection, and sustained organizational growth.I’m drawn to leaders who are willing to examine their own patterns, question their instincts, and build the discipline required to lead well in complex systems.If you’re doing that work too, I’d welcome the conversation.

Experience

1. Chief Operating Officer

   Leveraged Foundation

   Jun 2025 — Present

   Serve as internal integrator and senior strategic partner to the Executive Director, translating long-term vision into aligned operational priorities and enterprise-wide execution- Design and implement performance management systems, planning rhythms, and cross-team workflows that strengthen clarity, accountability, and sustainable growth- Lead development of organizational infrastructure across budgeting, information management, and decision architecture to support expansion without sacrificing quality or staff well-being- Strengthen coordinated execution across programs by establishing shared planning, reporting, and decision-making structures- Lead organizational innovation and pilot development, shaping new program directions and R&D initiatives aligned to LeveragED\'s long-term strategy- Steward LeveragED\'s evolution from a founder-led startup model to a scaled, enterprise-level operating foundation with durable systems and distributed leadership capacity.

Education

• Purchase College, SUNY

  Visual Arts

  2001

• Harvard Business School Online

  Certificate in School Management and Leadership, Organizational Leadership

  2018

• Pace University

  B.A., Psychology

  2004

• Pace University

  M.S., Special Education and Teaching

  2007

• Bank Street College of Education

  Ed.M., Leadership for Educational Change

  2010