Kadeem Ruiz is the Executive Director of Rocketship Wisconsin, overseeing all aspects of our two Milwaukee schools.

Kadeem is living proof of the impact of exemplary educational opportunities. Kadeem grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a single mother and the only one of four children to graduate from high school. Having lost one brother to gun violence and another to prison, Kadeem understands firsthand the devastating consequences of a lack of educational opportunities for all kids. Kadeem’s youngest brother struggled with emotional management differences and inspired Kadeem to pursue special education instead of matriculating into Columbia Law School, where he was accepted after college. Teachers and adult mentors also played a large role in Kadeem’s trajectory, eventually helping him win a scholarship to an elite boarding high school, The Hotchkiss School, and go on to Princeton University. There, Kadeem discovered his passion for teaching through tutoring reformed drug addicts recently released from prison to take the GED. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree from Hunter College in Special Education, a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the Bank Street School of Education, and he is currently working on his Educational Doctorate Degree in Leadership and Innovation from New York University.

Más recientemente, Kadeem trabajó como Director Gerente de Educación de Estudiantes Excepcionales en Breakthrough Public Schools, una red de 12 escuelas concertadas K-8. Allí, profundizó y amplió el impacto de Breakthrough a través de un programa de aprendizaje a distancia reconocido a nivel nacional, aumentando la diversidad en la contratación de la red, asociándose con las familias de una manera culturalmente sensible y ayudando a dirigir los esfuerzos de diversidad, equidad e inclusión de la organización. Antes de unirse a Breakthrough, Kadeem fue Director Senior de Poblaciones Especiales en Explore Schools en Brooklyn, Nueva York, trabajó como director de educación especial en la Equity Project Charter School en el barrio neoyorquino de Washington Heights, y enseñó educación especial durante muchos años en el Bronx.