Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, a non-profit network of public elementary charter schools serving low-income communities in California, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. He began his career as a teacher, later becoming a principal in San Jose, California. Preston graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from San Jose State University and is an Aspen New Schools Fellow. He lives in San Jose with his wife and two children who attend Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep.