Nigel Pugh

After working for 40 years as a teacher of English, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent for the Inner London Education Authority and the NYC Department of Education (DoE), Nigel brought his expertise to ISA in October 2018 as a leadership coach and a coach to support special education inclusion. Nigel was the founding principal of the Queens High School of Teaching, then an ISA school, in 2003. Since then he has been the principal of a successful turnaround school in Manhattan and supported 10 professional networks in the NYC DoE central office that provided services and supports to 355 NYC schools pre-k through 12. Nigel has mentored many future leaders through the New York City Leadership Academy and taught future leaders through the Principals’ Institute at Bank Street College of Education. He has considerable experience in leadership support, facilitative leadership, creation of new schools, designing inclusive environments for students with disabilities and other non-typical students, addressing the disproportional suspension of young men of color, and supporting LGBTQ students and adults in educational settings. More recently he has moved into international work through Americans for Bulgaria to support school leadership development in Bulgaria.