Michael Ambriz
Michael Ambriz is a service-oriented, equity-driven, transformational leader who enables people to do and be their best through strategy, systems, and collaboration. In 2024 he joined the KIPP Foundation as its Chief Operating Officer to support the organization’s ambition to become the best K-12 public school system in the country.
Prior to joining KIPP, Michael co-founded Acuity Consultants to help organizations solve their most pressing problems and find clarity in their path forward. In addition, he is the founder and program director for the Futurity Fellowship, a leadership development program for aspiring COOs in the education sector. Bringing 20+ years of leadership experience in education organizations to bear, he is the former Chief of Operations at Uncommon Schools, a charter management organization that grew under his 13+ years of leadership from 11 to 55 schools serving over 20,000 students in six cities. During his time at Uncommon, Michael stewarded the growth of the flagship network North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey from four schools to 14; spearheaded the opening of schools in Camden, New Jersey–Uncommon’s first-ever expansion project; and oversaw the organization’s response to COVID in 2020.
Before his time at Uncommon, Michael spent five years at Teach for America through significant years of growth, culminating as the Managing Director of National Institute Operations where he helped architect the organizational support and accountability systems for its summer training institutes. Michael is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow & moderator, a FOX Fellowship coach & advisory board member, and has a certificate of business excellence from Columbia Business School. He is a certified practitioner in the Meyers & Briggs Instrument (MBTI), as well as the Six Types of Working Genius from The Table Group. He holds a B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and currently lives in Harlem, NYC where he hopes to one day invent a machine to transport LA weather to the east coast.