Sean Corlett

BIOGRAPHY:

Sean Corlett serves as chief of staff for the Climate School and chief of organizational development and strategy. He has more than fifteen years of experience working across non-profit, education, and government sectors with a particular focus on building coherence and alignment across leadership teams within dynamic systems and organizations.

Immediately prior to joining Columbia Climate School, Sean worked as chief of staff to the inaugural senior vice president (SVP) for global inclusion and strategic innovation and chief diversity officer at New York University (NYU). There he advised the SVP, served as the unit's chief operating officer, developed foundational systems and structures for the start-up office, and drove university-wide priority initiatives across NYU’s global network.  

Sean began his career as a consultant for a youth NGO in Nicaragua and as an advocate counselor and special educator in New York City. Later, he was appointed as chief of staff to the NYC Department of Education's inaugural first deputy chancellor and chief of staff to the deputy chancellor for specialized instruction and student support (i.e., special education), serving NYC's 1.1 million students and their families with an integrated emphasis and function on advancing inclusion, equity, and access across the largest school system in the United States. 

Sean earned his Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and Public Policy from Wesleyan University and his Master of Science in Education from CUNY-Hunter College.