The Finance and Operations Excellence (FOX) Fellowship is a nonprofit education organization that offers a 10-month, practical leadership development program for Chief Financial Officers and Chief Operating Officers in scaling charter management organizations. 

Whether new to the role or looking to deepen their effectiveness, Fellows receive coaching from experienced charter sector executive coaches and engage in professional development that builds both adaptive and technical skills. Through tools, mindset shifts, and a strong peer network, the Fellowship catapults CFOs and COOs into the next phase of their leadership journey—so they can achieve a more significant impact in service of strengthening student outcomes.

The goals of the Fellowship are to: 

• Maximize financial and operational effectiveness in schools to be a great enabler of school quality; 

• Improve the retention of finance and operations leaders, and in particular the representation and retention of women and people of color; and 

• Support long-term financial and academic sustainability for partner organizations.

Outside of traditional business schools and the communities of practice convened by the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF), there are little to no professional development programs for non instructional team members at schools, particularly COOs and CFOs. As a result, leaders in this role rely on their manager for coaching support and on themselves for technical learning. 

The FOX Fellowship is designed to provide crucial support to set up COO and CFO leaders for success early in their role tenure. The intention is that this additional, complementary support will allow charter school networks the ability to attract and retain more women, people of color, and outstanding leaders from outside of the education sector.

Expert Coaching & Bespoke Professional Development. The Fellowship surveys the needs of each cohort to determine the technical and adaptive content areas of highest need. It pairs Fellows with experienced and expert coaches who are current and former CEOs, CFOs, and COOs with a proven track record of success. Their coaching is based on a highly individualized professional development plan and 1:1 real-time problem solving. Coaches and Fellows also meet for a day-long visit about halfway through the Fellowship. This coaching is supported by an expert coach of coaches that provides support and mentorship to maximize coaching impact. Get to know our expert coaches here.

Success Triad. The Fellowship creates a success triad between the Fellow, their direct manager/CEO, and the coach that is meant to form a supportive environment that facilitates the Fellow’s growth. Coaches work with Fellows on a dedicated one- on-one basis, while ensuring the deliberate and active involvement of a Fellow’s manager, typically the CEO. For this reason, we also offer a tailored professional development scope and sequence for CEOs to enhance their understanding and involvement in finance and operations topics. 

Cohort Networking and Professional Lifelines. FOX brings together leaders from organizations throughout the country. We are also launching our first regional cohort in the spring in Missouri. Throughout the Fellowship, we facilitate relationship building by fostering connections among cohort members and FOX alumni. Within each cohort, Fellows are organized 

into largely homogenous and tight-knit Advisory Hubs to enhance networking, trust, peer accountability, and professional lifeline support. 

Adaptive and Technical Best Practice Skill Building. Unlike typical leadership programs, the FOX Fellowship focuses on results-oriented adaptive and technical skill building based on proven best practices. The professional development scope and sequence is vetted by experts in the field, including CSGF partners, FOX coaches, and other stakeholders. Capstone Project. Any leader must have a tangible win on a yearly basis. This sets the tone for their tenure, it facilitates working relationships among their peers, and engenders trust among their team. The FOX Capstone Project is meant to provide this win for Fellows. The spirit behind this Fellowship-long project is to demonstrate application of core FOX competencies while driving an initiative of significant impact to the organization. Fellows present the outcome of their work before a panel at the Capstone Conference toward the end of Fellowship.

FOX Fellows are selected based on recommendations from key stakeholders throughout the Charter space nationwide and a rigorous application process. Each Fellow submits an application, answering questions about their leadership and management experience, and providing a statement of recommendation from their direct manager. The FOX team evaluates all applications and makes determinations based on cohort composition. Applicants can expect to hear either a request for a brief phone interview, or a decision regarding their candidacy by March 31, 2026.

Fellows are active participants in the 10-month Fellowship program, from August 2026 through June 2027. Outside of the three in-person events in September, January/February and June, the monthly commitment of the Fellowship is approximately 10 hours. 

FOX recommends that Fellows reserve a flexible two-hour block each week to protect time for both synchronous and asynchronous activities (including assignments, 1:1 coaching, and triad meetings). Synchronous sessions generally take place once a month. Weeks without a scheduled FOX activity should be used to advance progress on the Capstone Project. 

Below is a high-level overview of program activities: 

• Virtual Onboarding in August: ~6 hours 

• In-Person Kick-Off Event on September 25-27: 3 days 

• Virtual Classroom-Style Learning (typically 4 sessions) in October-April: ~ 8 hours 

• 1:1 Coaching Sessions in September-June: 14 hours 

• Advisory Hub meetings in October-May: ~9 hours

• In-Person Visit with your Coach in January/February: 1 day 

• Capstone Project in October-June: 25 hours 

• In-Person Capstone Conference & Graduation Event in June: 2 days

Yes. The Fellowship scope and sequence builds on each component. Fellows are required to attend all of the Fellowship’s programmatic events.

CEOs are expected to actively support their Fellows engagement in the program and to provide specific support in the following ways: 

• Write a brief recommendation as part of the prospective Fellow’s application; 

• Attend and engage fully in triad meetings (Fellow/CEO/Coach); 

• Attend and engage fully in virtual onboarding and a series of three PD sessions designed for CEOs; 

• Support the development and execution of the Fellow’s Capstone Project; and 

• Complete reflection, assessment and feedback activities as requested.

Below is an approximate time commitment for CEOs over the course of the 10-month Fellowship:

• Virtual Onboarding and data gathering: ~4 hours

• Virtual Professional Development: 5-7 hours

• Triad meetings: 3-4 hours

• In-person visit with your Fellow and Coach: 2 hours

• Capstone Project support/partnership with your Fellow: 3-5 hours

To participate in the Fellowship, the Fellow’s organization must pay $3,500 per Fellow.

The FOX Fellowship covers reasonable expenses related to lodging and meals for in-person events including the Kick-Off, the Capstone Conference, and convenings connected to the Charter School Growth Fund’s in-person events (the Fellow’s organization is responsible for the cost of airfare to/from in-person events).

Please note that no reimbursements will be approved without original itemized receipt documentation. All expense reports must be submitted within 30 days of service provided. Reimbursement will be issued within 10 days of submission, assuming a complete expense report.

The FOX Fellowship is largely focused on building strong technical skills and sharing best practices for a COO and CFO in their first year on the job. The role of the coach is to support this process while weaving in coaching on adaptive skill building as the need arises. Beyond addressing these issues within the unique context of the relationship, Coaches will facilitate the development of the Fellow’s Individualized Leadership Development Plan. Fellows and their manager engage in a leadership reflection exercise at the start of the Fellowship. This provides the launching point for the development of the Plan that will guide the focus of coaching and triad work throughout the Fellowship. Fellows and Coaches will work closely together during the Kick-Off Retreat to dive deep into this plan, with the goal of leaving the Kick-Off with a finalized plan for the manager’s input. 

Please email deRonda.williams@foxfellowship.org with your questions or to schedule a call to chat, or join an informational webinar- dates and times below.

Cohort 6 Informational Webinars:

• February 13, 2026 | 12:00-12:30 PM CST

• February 26, 2026 | 12:00-12:30 PM CST

• March 5, 2026 | 3:00-3:30 PM CST

• March 12, 2026 | 3:00-3:30 PM CST

Join Zoom Meeting.

Meeting ID: 868 7078 1498 | Passcode: 343573