Dr. Sarah Johnson

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Sarah Johnson is a nationally recognized leader in education with a passion for innovation, equity, and impact. Since 2018, she has served as CEO of Teaching Lab, where she sets the strategic vision and leads the organization’s growth as a national force in improving instructional quality and educator development. Under her leadership, Teaching Lab has expanded its reach, deepened its impact, and emerged as a leader in integrating AI into professional learning systems to drive scale and coherence.

Sarah brings experience across philanthropy, systems leadership, and the classroom. Prior to Teaching Lab, she led the Exceptional Educators Portfolio at Overdeck Family Foundation, directing investments in groundbreaking approaches to teacher development. She also held senior roles at New York City Public Schools, where she helped design and implement a continuous improvement strategy across more than 1,000 schools and led policy for the city’s teacher development and evaluation system.

Sarah began her career as a high school science teacher and founder of a social justice student leadership program in Washington, D.C. and Oakland, CA—an experience that continues to inform her commitment to educator voice and student opportunity.

She holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Arts in Teaching from American University, and a B.S. in Neuroscience from Emory University, where she graduated summa cum laude.