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It takes all of us, together, for our Link students to reach
their potential and live connected, purposeful lives.
Our stories- the personal and professional experiences that have shaped each of us and our approach to this work- are different, and those differences strengthen our shared vision.
The depth of our gratitude for the community Link belongs to cannot be measured. Learn more about the people and organizations, without whom, this work is not possible.
Adara Robbins serves as Director of Operations at Link Public Schools. Adara graduated with her MBA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. Prior to attending business school, Adara was a 2013 Teach for America Houston Corps Member and taught English at YES Prep Public Schools for a total of six years. Adara was named a Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching National Finalist in 2014. Deeply passionate about thoughtful charter school growth strategy, Adara partnered with DSST Public Schools Finance Team during business school, and also completed summer internships with Deloitte Consulting and the US Department of Education. She was most recently the Senior Manager of Strategy for Rocketship Education.
Shawn Smith serves as the Director of School Culture for Link Public Schools. Prior to joining Link, Shawn spent 12 years as a teacher and leader at DSST Public Schools in Denver, Colorado, widely considered one of the leading STEM charter networks in the United States. Shawn has a degree in Integrated Social Studies Education from Miami University, Special Education Graduate Study and Licensure from the University of Colorado at Denver, a MA in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Denver and is a Relay National Principals Academy Fellow alum. He currently lives in St. Paul.
Link’s board is reflective of being a “diverse by design” organization and school community. In a state where only 3% of public school board members identify as people of color (2017, MPR), four of eight (50%) members of Link's Board identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC).
Alongside racial diversity, leaders also reflect our mission and community in other ways. We have grounding family relationships that include being a parent/sibling of individuals with significant disabilities, having interracial marriages and multiracial children, and LGBTQIA+ loved ones.
Our leaders are multilingual, immigrants, have lived abroad, and have community roots in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Leaders draw from these personal and professional experiences consistently in discussions and decision-making.
This founding board will serve for the first 2-3 years of the school, at which point an election will be held to establish the "Ongoing" Board of Directors. We are so grateful for the service of these committed leaders!
View our schedule of board meetings & minutes here.
It takes a village to raise a child and we’re building a village to help raise hundreds of children. We’re still getting off the ground and we’d love to connect with you to build a relationship.
See open positions
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