The duality of responsibility and accountability ft. Nishant Mehta

Third Space with Jen Cort

Over a career spanning two decades, Nishant has worked on behalf of K-12 schools of all types on issues of leadership, culture, strategy and change management, and equity and justice.
At Storbeck Search, he heads the firm’s Independent Schools practice, recruiting transformational leadership for private, charter, and mission-driven schools across the country. In addition to his active role in executive-level searches, he offers consulting on strategy and DE&I, as well as leadership and governance coaching and training for education and nonprofit organizations.
Prior to joining Storbeck, Nishant served as Head of The Children’s School (TCS), an independent JK-8 school in Atlanta that was lauded in 2017 as a “model to follow” for innovation by NAIS’s Independent School magazine. In addition to his leadership of TCS, Nishant has twice co-chaired the NAIS People of Color Conference, served on the faculty of the Student Diversity Leadership Conference and the Diversity Leadership Institute, authored articles for NAIS publications, served on the NAIS and the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) boards; led workshops on topics such as equity and inclusion and governance and school leadership at national and regional conferences, and was the founder of The Children’s School’s Master Class in Inclusive Leadership, a summer leadership opportunity designed specifically for women and people of color. Since 2018 Nishant has served each summer as a faculty mentor of the NAIS Institute for New Heads, where he coaches new heads of school.
Nishant grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to the United States as a junior in boarding school. He has lived in four countries and is fluent in several languages. Based in Atlanta, he serves on the advisory boards of the Woodruff Arts Center's Alliance Theatre and the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, and on the boards of NBOA, Asheville School, and the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). He is a former board chair of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE). Nishant also serves as a script advisor to the show Sesame Street, and he is the founder of The Inclusive Leader Book Club which meets monthly to discuss issues of equity and inclusion in school cultures and communities.
Early in his career, Nishant spent five years at St. Alcuin Montessori School (now Alcuin School) in Dallas, serving as International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, and teacher. He went on to teach humanities at The Allen-Stevenson School in New York City before taking the role as Assistant Head of School and Middle School Head at Alexandria Country Day School in Alexandria, VA.