Todd Dickson is founder and CEO of Valor Collegiate Academies, a small charter management organization in Nashville, TN. Since inception, Valor has been the top performing academic charter network in Tennessee. Valor has also developed a nationally recognized comprehensive human development approach, Powered by Compass, that is a key driver of their success - they are currently sharing this work to schools in local schools, statewide, and around the country.
Todd came to the field of education as a second career in 2000 after successfully building a residential real estate company in Colorado, from 1995-2000. Before starting Valor, Todd spent 12 years at Summit Public Schools in the Bay Area of California, first as a physics teacher and then as a principal. Under his leadership, Summit Prep was named one of the top 10 Transformational Schools in the country by Newsweek.
Todd has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering (Denver University and Cornell University) and a master’s degree in education (Stanford University). He was also an All-American lacrosse player and team captain. When not thinking about how to transform public education, Mr. Dickson enjoys spending time with his wife and their three young children, who are each at one of all three of Valor's three schools! He also enjoys Crossfit, Spartan races, and watching all things Colorado sports.