J. Kirsten Busch

Founding Director, Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished New York City Principals

J. Kirsten Busch is the Founding Director of the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished New York City Principals. She has extensive experience developing programs in the public, not-for-profit, and private sectors.

Prior to launching The Cahn Fellows Program, Busch worked for the World Bank Group's Human Development Network on educational reform projects with Ministries of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Nicaragua, she led a community-based pilot study designed to improve student attendance levels in rural schools and advised the Ministry of Education on the development of their five year strategic plan. In Jamaica, she advised the Ministry of Education on the use of technology in teacher education programs throughout the island.

As a management consultant with Mitchell Madison Group, Busch led strategy development and implementation projects throughout Europe and the United States for companies in the financial, technology, and education sectors. At Microsoft Corporation, Busch guided the development of a technology-training program for teachers in Latin America. Busch has also served as the Senior Education Policy Advisor to the New York City Council's Education Committee.

A 1994 corps member with Teach for America, Busch worked as an elementary school special education teacher in Oakland, California and later taught middle school English in Alexandria, Virginia.

Busch holds a Master of Business Administration from Yale University and received her B.A. in English Language and Literature from The University of Virginia. She is a candidate for a Master of Arts in International Education Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. Busch is originally from New Jersey, where she attended public schools throughout her childhood.