About Us
Meet our founding consultants and learn about their diverse experience.
Team Aspirational Insights
Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter
Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter has worked in the education field for more than 25 years. Within K-12 education and in the private sector, Dr. Carpenter has served in numerous senior level administrative roles. Most recently he served as general manager of an intercontinental education technology company. Dr. Carpenter has also served as superintendent of schools in urban and suburban districts. In addition to the superintendency, Dr. Carpenter has served as deputy superintendent for operations, associate superintendent for human resources and assistant superintendent for support services in rural, suburban and urban settings. Dr. Carpenter has also worked as an elementary principal, middle school assistant principal and elementary school classroom teacher.
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Dr. Carpenter is the youngest of six siblings and he was the first among them to earn a four-year college degree (Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education, Georgia Southern University). He finds joy in noting that after earning this degree, two older siblings went on to earn four year degrees. Dr. Carpenter went on to earn his master’s degree in educational leadership from Augusta State University, an education specialist degree and a doctorate degree in educational leadership and educational administration respectively, both from Georgia Southern University.
His national recognitions include the ASCD Emerging Leader Award and serving on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Education Research and Technology. Other accolades include: South Kansas City Alliance Innovative Educational Program Award, Friend of the Council for Exceptional Children Award, and the Phi Beta Sigma Tau Beta Chapter Educator of the Year Award. Dr. Carpenter has been a presenter at numerous state and national conferences on topics such as STEM education, student achievement, digital equity, racial equity and parent/community involvement. In addition, Dr. Carpenter is a dedicated member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and has held leadership positions on many state and local boards. Dr. Carpenter is married to Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter and they have two beautiful children.
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Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter
Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter has served in the Education field for more than two decades in Georgia and Missouri and has worked in all settings, K-12. Dr. Carpenter is a highly skilled school leader, public speaker, and visionary. She has experience in traditional public schools, public-charter schools, and private schools. Dr. Carpenter has expertise in student and staff empowerment, teacher development and leadership, school transformation and turn-around, inclusion and equity, and data-based decision-making. As a school leader, Dr. Carpenter has been an advocate for ensuring that all students within a school building are treated with dignity, respect, love, and care. Additionally, she has ensured that minority students are offered advanced courses with the same instructional intensity as their non-minority peers. Furthermore, during her tenure as a school leader, Dr. Carpenter has and continues to ensure that the hiring practices of teachers and support staff are representative of the student culture.
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Dr. Carpenter taught middle and high school, and during this time orchestrated and organized several community and college-readiness events for students in the community, such as college fairs, college tours, and cultural field trips. After having success in the classroom, she was recommended to enter the administration side of education, and began her work as an administrator in an urban middle school. It was during this first experience as a school leader that she became a part of an award-winning school-leader, turn-around team. After serving the students of the Dekalb County (Decatur, GA) community as a teacher and assistant principal for 11 years, she transitioned to the Bibb County School District (Macon, GA), and began her work as a principal. Dr. Carpenter worked as an Elementary Principal in a high-needs, high-risk, high poverty community for several years. During this time, she was selected to be a part of the Leadership Macon class. She has also served in the Newton County School system (Covington, GA) as a high school principal that served over 2,200 students. Dr. Carpenter was the first female high school principal in the Newton County school district, and the first African-American and the first female principal of the high school that she served. During her time as a high school principal, she served the community as a 2009 Leadership Newton class member, and later served on the Leadership Newton Board for several years.
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During her tenure as a high school principal, her husband, Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter earned a Superintendent position in the Hickman Mills School District (Kansas City, MO), and the Carpenters relocated to the Kansas City, MO area to continue the important work of educational leadership. While in Kansas City, MO, Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter has worked in both public charter and private schools. Currently, she is the principal of Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy, a K-8 public-charter school which is located in Kansas City, MO. Thus far, during her tenure at Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy, LaQuanda has been instrumental in the school receiving over $300,000.00 in community grant funding.
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Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter has earned degrees from Georgia State University, Mercer University, and The University of Sarasota (Argosy University). She has degrees in Criminal Justice, Middle Grades Education, and Educational Leadership. She has served with many organizations, such as the YMCA, the Kiwanis Club, and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Leadership Council. Dr. Carpenter was a member of the 2008 ASCD Emerging Leader Cohort (1 of 19 selected, the only in GA).
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Dr. Carpenter is committed to growth and development. Previously, she was selected to be a part of the 2018 Discovery Education’s Principal Summit. Currently, she is a member of the Missouri Leadership Academy Cohort for 2019-2020. Additionally, Dr. Carpenter has been selected to participate in The Kauffman Foundation’s School ReTool cohort, which is a partnership with the Stanford school during the 2019-2020 school year.
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Dr. Carpenter believes in “community,” and “service” both locally and nationally. She was initiated in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on the campus of Georgia State University in 1995 and is currently a Diamond Life member. She is also a dedicated member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Most recently she led the effort to charter a new Jack and Jill of America Chapter in her local community.
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Dr. Carpenter is the recipient of several community and leadership awards, such as, the Pinnacle Award of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Stone Mountain-Lithonia Alumnae Chapter. She has also been recognized by Suburban Balance as a Lift Her Up Honoree. Dr. Carpenter is extremely passionate about health and wellness, reading, and traveling. She is married to
Dr. Dennis Carpenter and they have two beautiful children.