Microschool Institute

Meet our leaders

Dr. Tyler Thipen

Co-founder

Tyler grew up in Georgia and has worked in innovative district, private, and charter schools, as well as statewide and national nonprofits. Tyler is co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy in Trilith, The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self-Directed Learning, Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and Guest Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Formerly, Tyler was partner at Transcend, a national nonprofit in school redesign, and worked closely on innovative school projects such as nXu, Whittle, The Academy Group, Washington Leadership Academy, Art in Motion, Hebrew Public, Teton Science's Place Network, EL Education, and the Brooklyn STEAM Center. Tyler also co-founded MENTOR Georgia, Transforming Teaching at Harvard, and the Chattahoochee Hills Charter School. Earlier, Tyler worked as head of the upper school at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Spanish teacher in Gwinnett County public schools, and minister at the Grace family of churches where he led international development in Peru in areas of healthcare, education, poverty reduction, and infrastructure. Tyler holds a doctoral degree in education leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master’s in public administration from Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a master’s in theological studies from Regent College of the University of British Columbia. Tyler has written about the future of learning in the Washington Post, Education Week, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Getting Smart, and others. Tyler lives with his four children, all of whom attended The Forest School, in Trilith, GA.

Dr. Caleb Colllier

Co-founder & Head of Research

Caleb Collier is a co-founder and Head of Research at The Institute for Self-Directed Learning. He is also a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. He has written extensively on Self-Directed Learning and is the author of Theoretical and Historical Evolutions of Self-Directed Learning: The Case for Learner Led Education (Routledge, 2023). His interests lie in the intersections between self-directed learning, character education, and human flourishing.

Dr. Jessica Richard

Co-leader of the leadership track

Jessica Richard is the Associate Director of the School Leadership Program. Since completing graduate studies in Educational Administration, Jessica’s continued focus has been on the building of healthy organizational structures and cultivating a foundation of excellence in instructional development and curriculum. Her expertise lies in creating instructional coherence, cultivating strong teams, designing systems and programming for community engagement, and building quality educational leadership standards that support student achievement.

With over twenty years of experience, Jessica excelled within primary and secondary (K-12) education serving in various leadership capacities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, culminating with nine years as a Principal and Chief Academic Officer. During her tenure, she and her staff established strong routines for continuous development at every level of the school system, strengthened core instructional programs, improved the percentage of students reading on or above grade level by over 50%,  and established powerful one-of-a-kind partnerships with parents and community leaders that deepened the district’s local relationships and influence. Jessica, in partnership with the community she served, also introduced a bold agenda for the future grounded in a commitment to student achievement and teacher performance. She was named the Dobson FIM 2013 Principal of the Year and is a member of the PA Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

Jessica has also previously led all operations of a community faith-based nonprofit organization with initiatives aimed at addressing the needs of Southern New Jersey communities with a focus on after-school arts programming, educational resources for parents and teachers, mental health programming, food pantries and mobile food distribution centers in underserved communities, and planning large events that fostered civic engagement.

Dr. Charlotte Jacobs

Co-leader of the teaching and learning track

Charlotte E. Jacobs, as the director for the Independent School Teaching Residency program (ISTR), leads the design and execution of a residency-based teacher education program that involves close partnership with over 20 schools. Dr. Jacobs also teaches a course on adolescent development in the Urban Teaching Residency program at Penn GSE.

Dr. Jacobs earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish Literature & Language from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Education focusing on middle school humanities from Lesley University and the Shady Hill Teacher Training Course located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Jacobs taught seventh grade humanities at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Chicago, Illinois, and was a faculty member of the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference before matriculating to the University of Pennsylvania to earn a Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher education.

Dr. Jenny Zapf

Co-leader of the leadership track

Jenny Zapf, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow and the Founding Director of the world’s first M.S.Ed. and M.S.Ed.-MBA in Education Entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Education and the Wharton School of Business. Dr. Zapf also is the Co-Founder and Faculty Director of Penn GSE’s virtual certificate program in Global Education Entrepreneurship & Innovation 

Dr. Zapf is a global leader in education innovation. She has trained thousands of education, business, and industry professionals to build, test, manage, and scale new models – including schools, universities, programs, services, and products. Over the past decade she has advised business and institutional leaders on entrepreneurial projects in 30+ countries. Dr. Zapf routinely speaks at international venues such as Reimagine Education, Milken-Penn Education Business Plan Competition, Israel Education Summit, European EdTech Network, India EdTech Summit Series, and the ASU-GSV Innovation Summit. 

For three decades, Jenny Zapf has launched education and social ventures in higher education institutions, schools, non-profits, research institutes, and venture labs. Through a range of roles in academic leadership, non-profit management, applied research, and policy, Dr. Zapf has worked to drive equity through design, building learning environments and pathways to transform the global education landscape and marketplace.

Dr. Zapf teaches micro-courses and workshops on Entrepreneurial Leadership in Education, Education Innovation Ecosystems, Education Ventures, and Entrepreneurial Mindsets in Education. Her signature course, Evaluation for Education Innovation, uses lean startup, design thinking, and developmental evaluation to test solutions in education. Dr. Zapf’s research looks at how we cultivate, measure, and scale entrepreneurial thinking and innovation across the education ecosystem.

Ready to build the future of school?