# Frances Messano

> Frances Messano is CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, a venture philanthropy that backs early-stage education entrepreneurs across the U.S. A Brooklyn native, first-generation college graduate, and Harvard-trained economist, she left Wall Street (Morgan Stanley equity derivatives) for a decade-long arc through consulting and Teach For America before landing at NewSchools in 2015. She rose to President, built the Diverse Leaders investment strategy, and in January 2023 became the organization's first woman of color to serve as CEO. Under her leadership, NewSchools has deployed $23M+ supporting 80 teams in a single year, with 76% of portfolio companies led by people of color.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at NewSchools Venture Fund
- **Organizations:** NewSchools Venture Fund, Unidos US, Stand for Children, Pahara Institute, MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow), Tipping Point, Urban Institute's Student Upward Mobility Initiative
- **From:** Brooklyn, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** A.B. in Economics, Harvard College, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** First woman of color to lead NewSchools Venture Fund as CEO (January 2023), Built the Diverse Leaders investment strategy from scratch in 2015, transforming who gets funded, Raised and deployed over $45M into 141 ventures during 2022 alone

## Career timeline

- **2002-2006** — Morgan Stanley - equity derivative sales and trading
- **2006-2008** — Harvard Business School MBA
- **2008-2010** — Monitor (later Monitor Deloitte) - marketing strategy consulting
- **2010-2013** — Monitor Institute - social impact consulting, Associate Partner, education-focused organizations
- **2013-2015** — Teach For America - Vice President, national strategy development
- **2015-2018** — NewSchools Venture Fund - Vice President; spearheaded Diverse Leaders investment strategy
- **2018-2021** — NewSchools Venture Fund - led Innovative Schools portfolio
- **2021-2022** — NewSchools Venture Fund - President
- **2023-present** — NewSchools Venture Fund - Chief Executive Officer (first woman of color to hold the role)

## Achievements

- First woman of color to lead NewSchools Venture Fund as CEO (January 2023)
- Built the Diverse Leaders investment strategy from scratch in 2015, transforming who gets funded
- Raised and deployed over $45M into 141 ventures during 2022 alone
- 76% of NewSchools portfolio companies led by people of color under her leadership
- Supported 80 teams with over $23 million in funding in 2025
- Led NewSchools into its 25th year of supporting early-stage education entrepreneurs
- Board member: Unidos US, Stand for Children, Pahara Institute, MLT
- Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow
- First-generation college graduate who earned degrees from both Harvard College and Harvard Business School

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — NewSchools supported 80 education teams with over $23M in 2025, focusing on real-world learning, literacy, math, and AI-leveraged teaching
- **2025-00** — Published 'Courage, Community, and What Comes Next' - annual reflection on the state of education innovation
- **2024-00** — Released 2024-26 strategy: 'Education Fuels Progress', centering GenAI, math tutoring, and equity
- **2023-01** — Named CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, effective January 1, 2023 - first woman of color in the role
- **2023-00** — Named a 2023 Change Maker (featured on YouTube)

## Links

- Website: https://www.newschools.org/team/frances-messano/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-messano
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/@nsvf
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/newschools

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/frances-messano
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-07