Jack Elsey
Founding Partner & CEO
Jack Elsey has been a results-oriented educator for nearly two decades. In 2022, in his home state, Jack founded the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative (MEWI), an organization committed to addressing the teacher shortage crisis and building a more robust educator pipeline for Michigan. In the last three years, MEWI has launched two educator registered apprenticeship programs serving over 1,600 educator candidates and over 400 school districts and early childhood programs; expanded strategic staffing in partnership with Arizona State University to a dozen districts across Michigan; launched the Educator Preparation Program Collaborative, aimed at innovating traditional teacher preparation with five of the state's largest teacher-producing universities; and supported the development and retention of hundreds of educators - current and future. Before establishing MEWI, Jack led the Detroit Children’s Fund, a non-profit dedicated to improving public schools in Detroit. In 2024, MEWI began conversations with potential expansion states, exploring work as the Educator Workforce Initiative (EWI) outside of Michigan.
Elsey has served in multiple school district leadership capacities, including Chief of Innovation and Incubation at Chicago Public Schools and Assistant Superintendent at Detroit Public Schools. He began his career as a middle school teacher with Teach For America in New York City, is a Pahara Fellow, Broad Residency alum, Future Chief alum with Chiefs For Change, a Harvard Young American Leader alum, and Senior Fellow with Empower Schools.
He serves on a number of non-profit boards including the Diploma Equity Project (chair), and the Michigan Education Corps. Locally in Detroit, Elsey is a member of Leadership Detroit Class XLI, served on the Rise Higher Detroit transition committee for Mayor-Elect Sheffield, is on the board of Give Merit, and participates on the Black Leaders Detroit’s Ally Council. For the last decade, Elsey has served as an executive coach and strategic advisor to non-profits and non-profit leaders across the country.
Credentials
BA History & Philosophy, Wake Forest University
MST Teaching, Pace University
M.Ed. Education Leadership, Broad Center at the Yale School of Management
Fun Facts
Dad jokes are the best jokes
Used to play guitar in bands, now the living room is a stage
Is on a lifelong quest to become a single digit handicap on the golf course