Full Biography
Background, mission & curriculum vitae
The complete professional story of Dr. Brenda Ortiz McGrath, Ed.D., MSW — how she leads, what she believes, and the full record of her roles, education, and service. The curriculum vitae below is ready to download for search committees, event hosts, and media.
Background
A builder of systems, people, and possibilities
Dr. Brenda Ortiz McGrath has built her career at the intersection of educational leadership, systems change, student success, equity, and community impact.
Her work began closest to students and families, where she developed a deep understanding of the realities that shape learning, belonging, opportunity, and achievement. That foundation became the lens through which she would go on to lead schools, teams, programs, and districtwide systems.
Over more than two decades in education, she has served in progressively senior leadership roles spanning family and community engagement, school administration, high school leadership, and PK–12 district administration. Today her work reaches across social-emotional learning, student support systems, mental health, organizational strategy, leadership development, policy, equity, and innovation.
She is an educational leader, consultant, district administrator, researcher, and author. Her early training as a social worker is the foundation beneath that leadership — not the limit of it. It is why her systems thinking is grounded in the real experiences of students, families, and educators, and why she leads with both strategy and humanity.
As a Latina leader, she has broken barriers throughout her career, including becoming the first Latina to hold several of the leadership positions in which she has served.
That philosophy now extends beyond traditional educational systems through the MijaLumbre Leadership Framework™, her culturally grounded model for Latina women ready to lead with greater clarity, identity, purpose, voice, and power.
Her leadership is not confined to one role, one discipline, or one institution. It is about transforming systems while creating space for others to rise.
Mission
What drives the work
Four commitments that shape every district system, keynote, and initiative she builds.
People first, always
People do their best work when they are known, valued, challenged, supported, and given meaningful opportunities to lead. Every system she builds starts there.
Systems that outlast a single leader
Programs come and go. Her work is building the structures, staffing, funding, and data practices that keep good practice in place long after a launch year.
Culture as strength, not an add-on
Language, heritage, and lived experience belong at the center of leadership — for students, families, and the leaders who serve them.
Creating what should already exist
When a pathway is missing for students, families, or emerging leaders, she builds it — through district systems, the MijaLumbre Leadership Framework™, and CoreKind360 Family Connect.
Leadership Journey
Roles across two decades
From direct practice with students and families to PK–12 district leadership.
School Adjustment Counselor
Waltham Public Schools · 2006–2014
Eight years of direct practice with students and families — supporting transitions, emotional well-being, peer relationships, and academic stress, and connecting families to community resources.
Head of Family & Community Engagement / Dean of Students
Bentley Academy, Salem · 2014–2017
A founding member of the school's turnaround work, partnering with families, staff, and community organizations as the school achieved Level 1 status.
Associate Principal
Waltham Public Schools · 2017–2021
The district's first Latina administrator. Led high school house operations, student-success systems, school climate, and discipline, advancing the School Improvement Plan with department leaders. Provided staff supervision, coaching, and professional learning, and introduced and scaled restorative practices as a schoolwide approach to belonging, accountability, and culture.
Principal
Waltham High School · 2021–Aug 2022
First Latina and first woman to lead the school in 53 years. Directed schoolwide instructional strategy, operations, culture, and student-success priorities through an improvement plan centered on academic growth and belonging; led the Instructional Leadership Team in developing the Quality School Plan; supervised and evaluated faculty and school-based teams; and expanded family partnership through the PTO, School Site Council, home visits, adult education, and the Latinx Parent Leadership Group.
First woman and Latina principal of Waltham High School
District Administrator, PK–12
Chelsea Public Schools · 2022–Present
Leads districtwide strategy across an 11-school PK–12 system serving approximately 6,300 students, aligning academic, attendance, behavioral, SEL/MTSS, family-engagement, and specialized-support priorities. Leads and develops professional teams through PLC structures and data-informed routines, advises central office leaders, principals, and school teams on crisis response and compliance, and directs grants, vendor and community partnerships with families, public agencies, healthcare and crisis providers, and regional organizations.
Credentials
Education, licensure, and training
Education
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Educational Leadership & Supervision
American International College — 2026, GPA 4.0
Master of Social Work (MSW)
Boston College — 2006, clinical and school social work practice
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
Wheelock College
Educational Leadership
University of New England — 2017–2018
Massachusetts Licensure
- Superintendent (Professional)
- Principal K–12
- School Adjustment Counselor
- Director of Pupil Personnel
- Director of School Counseling
- Attendance / Truancy Supervisor
Additional Training
Essential Elements of School Threat Assessment (On Demand)
Completed September 22, 2026 · 1.0 contact hour (online training).
Title IX Investigator
External certification training in Title IX investigation and compliance.
Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI)
Trained facilitator in de-escalation and crisis prevention practice.
Restorative & Mediation Practice
Training in restorative approaches, mediation, and conflict resolution programming.
Doctoral Research
Reducing Dropout Rates Through Social-Emotional Learning in Urban Public Schools: A Qualitative Document Analysis
A qualitative document analysis exploring how social-emotional learning can support efforts to reduce dropout rates in urban public schools.
Read the dissertation on ProQuest — Now published and available through ProQuest.
Fellowships & Service
Fellowships, boards, and appointments
Fellowships
CASEL SEL Lead Fellow
2025–2026 cohort
LeadBoston Scholarship Recipient, YW Boston
2024–2025
Aspiring Latino Leaders Fellow, Latinos for Education
2023–2024
Influence 100 Fellow
Cohort 2 · 2020–2021
Boards & Appointments
Elected School Committee Member, Policy Chair & DEI Chair — Lynn School Committee
Current
Vice President, Lynn Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Current
Commissioner, Essex County Commission for the Status of Women
2023–2026
Board Member, Lynn Housing Trust Fund
Current
National Advisory Board, Alongside
Current
Massachusetts Association for Mental Health Advisory Council
Current
Healthy Families Advisory Board
Current
Advisory Council, Eliot Family Resource Center
Current
Curriculum vitae
A printable summary of roles, education, licensure, fellowships, boards, honors, publications, and selected engagements.
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