We had the good fortune of connecting with Adrienne Avery and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adrienne, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
“We have strong evidence that students of color benefit from having teachers and leaders who look like them as role models and also benefit from the classroom dynamics that diversity creates.” -Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. Howard University, March 8, 2016

The aforementioned quote and the words of a former student guide my beliefs on the importance and impact of diverse representation in schools. Khalia was an 8th grader at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill Middle School who had a great deal of tenacity and personality. As we prepared for the replacement Director of Operations to arrive, Khalia said, “I hope the new director is a Black woman.” When asked why, Khalia responded, “Because I like seeing Black people leading around me. It makes me feel strong.” I have carried these words with me as I navigate my own path in school leadership because I hope to always remember that equitable education environments shift the ways in which students see themselves in the world around them.

During my K-12 and collegiate matriculation, I can recall very few Black school leaders and teachers at the schools I attended. There were distinct times when the lack of Black teachers and leaders in my educational experience impacted my own feelings of being misunderstood and undervalued.

For this reason, I am all in. All day, every day. That is what our students require. Because of this belief and mindset as the foundation of my work ethic, I have seen my career transform. In 2016, I was an adjunct professor, NYC Tour Guide, and cashier at Staples, all at once. Fast forward to today, and I’m the Senior Director of Student Engagement for a youth development non-profit.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
How I got to my current career is a bit of what I often refer to as a hodgepodge. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2010 and decided that I was ready for a big change. I sold all of my belongings including my car and bought a one-way ticket to New York City. Sight unseen. Once I arrived the only job I could get was at Macy’s in Herald Square in the lingerie department. I was a Calvin Klein lingerie specialist for a little over a year before I got an actual full-time job. A friend of mine that I met at Macy’s also worked for the New York City Department of Transportation and was able to get me in for a job interview. I ended up getting a job making around $35,000 a year on their street assessment task force. For eight hours a day, I wrote around all the boroughs and gave the roads ratings to determine whether or not the city needed to be repaving them or not. It was horrible. I was so miserable and it literally felt like the job was killing me. I remember praying and asking God to please take me away from that job. That is when I learned the importance of being very specific with your prayers because he definitely took me away from the job in that I was terminated with the reason being “you were hired as a temporary employee and your services are no longer needed” I didn’t even bother asking questions or arguing about it because I was over it.

I ended up on unemployment for a while but then was able to get a job as an adjunct professor at a few community colleges in the area. I ended up teaching a full load of classes at two colleges. And then picked up a job as a tour guide at radio city music hall, which ended up being a really cool opportunity. Still, this did not feel at all like a career, more so what I needed to do to keep the rent paid. In 2016 I went on a retreat with the 20 and 30-something ministry at my church and someone who was also at the retreat heard me mentioning how much I was ready for an actual career. They connected me with a job posting at uncommon schools, which is a popular charter network up north. I ended up getting a job as an office manager at a middle school in Brownsville/Brooklyn New York. This is when everything shifted for me. I realize that I really enjoyed the school operations and all of the work that it takes for a school to effectively run and for students and teachers to be happy I spent two years working in operations management was uncommon before relocating to Atlanta in 2019 and taking a job at a start-up charter school as a school culture coordinator. This is where my student-facing work began. From there I became an assistant principal of school culture and behavior and now serve as the Senior Director of student engagement at a youth development nonprofit here in Atlanta.

When I look back on how I felt when I stepped off that plane in New York City in September 2011, so full of hope not knowing how much I was about to struggle to “make it”…I’m really proud of myself for toughing it out. My NYC experience was not like Carrie Bradshaw’s. I had to fight for every inch of progress and it was exhausting. But I knew there was a bigger assignment and calling on my life and somehow, with enough crazy faith, I just kept going. I kept falling forward.

The exciting part is that I’m just getting started! I’m about to graduate with my 2nd Masters’s degree in Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University which will allow me to enroll in their Ed. Specialist program and finally the doctoral program.

Additionally, I’ve also started my own consulting business because as an experienced neurodiverse school administrator and school operations expert, I bring a unique blend of talent and knowledge, combining my expertise as an assistant principal, operations manager, and 10+ years of professional experience in charter school education, secondary education, and student engagement.

People should know that partnering with me will allow you to discover a relationship that is grounded in efficiency, clear communication, and compassionate commitment. I love what I do, and I do it well!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m still fairly new to Atlanta so I’ll admit that I’m still into touristy things. I’m also a bit of a homebody so any true city dweller is going to find this list lame. LOL. But here’s what I’d plan for them:

Sunday: Church at Elizabeth Baptist off Cascade Rd. followed by Brunch at Drawbar

Monday: JoJo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge for Drinks and great music

Tuesday: Dinner at Wonderkid and Holiday Tree Market/Roaming around Ponce City Market

Wednesday: Evening showing of A Christmas Carol at Alliance Theatre (highly recommend!)

Thursday: Wings at The Local followed by cocktails and Garden Lights at the Botanical Gardens

Friday: Ubar for a financially responsible turn-up! The drinks are strong and very affordable.

Saturday: Estate Sales and a Goodwill crawl!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Sarah P. Davis, Erma McGimpsey, The A-Team, Girl Scout Troop 76, everyone I met and love from Oak Hill Elementary, Table Rock Middle School, and Freedom High School, everyone I met and love from Western Carolina University, Dr. Poulos, Dr, Croft, Latifah Tate, Sierra Huang, Najiyah McKinney, EBC 20/30’s, DOJ, Brooklyn, NY, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Website: https://about.me/adrienne.avery

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienneavery/

Image Credits
The photo in Polkadot skirt is from a Shoott photog.

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