Chelsey Herrold
Chelsey joins Transcend as the Operations Manager for the Central Ops Team, bringing a deep commitment to fostering meaningful connections and a passion for designing thoughtful experiences that inspire creativity. Her work focuses on supporting the equitable redesign of our nation’s education system.
Before Transcend, Chelsey served as the Assistant Director of Advancement at The New School in Northwest Arkansas. There, she collaborated with school leadership on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategic initiatives, culminating in the launch of the Institute of Wellness and Belonging. This institute provided mentorship, continuing education, and professional development for educators, shifted learning approaches to center students’ physical, emotional, and mental well-being, and offered educational programs for parents and guardians to cultivate an inclusive school culture of belonging.
Her journey in education began as a Teaching Artist and Outreach Manager at a children’s theatre, where she developed accessible community arts programming and led in-school residencies across public schools in Northwest Arkansas and rural regions of Arkansas and Missouri. Her work included designing arts-integrated curricula, mentoring educators in arts integration, and producing original touring performances aligned with educational state standards in History, Math, SEL, Literacy, and Science.
Chelsey holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Central Arkansas and a Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University.
Outside of Transcend, in her free time, she enjoys being creative, traveling, staying active outdoors, learning new skills, appreciating good food, and spending quality time with friends and loved ones.
Continue Your Journey
Leaps for Equitable, 21st-Century Learning
Transcend’s Leaps for Equitable, 21st-Century Learning describes the key ways we believe the student experience must change so that schools can prepare all young people to thrive in and transform the world.
Transform Learning with Community-Based Design
Community-based design is a collaborative and local process that brings together young people, educators, administrators, caregivers, and experts to redesign learning. It goes beyond traditional school improvement initiatives by involving the entire community in reshaping...
