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Subira Gordon is embracing her role as the founding president of the Nashville Charter Collaborative with excitement, curiosity, and a well-rounded perspective. A perspective on education that traces back to her childhood growing up in Content, Jamaica (a rural community near Port Antonio). Subira was able to see firsthand what true service work embodied through her Mom who created a school in her own community. A school where children would be educated, loved, and guided. As Subira reflects, I remember my Mom wanted to make sure the kids I was connected to and played with also knew how to read and recognize that they could choose a great education. The first kids to go to college in my community went to my Mom’s school. This is where the belief in education was planted for Subira and would become her north star throughout her career.
Subira went on to hold roles in the Connecticut Legislature and in other civic engagement positions, helping to advance equity for underserved communities. A quiet and confident leader, Subira has led initiatives focused on senior citizen issues, housing, criminal justice reform, and economic development.
Her aha moment came after touring a youth correctional facility while working on prison reform and wrestling with a nuanced question: “What does it mean to be rehabilitated?” She realized meaningful change had to start at the beginning. One of her projects focused on creating pathways for Black Men to become certified teachers in Connecticut. She realized that the lack of Black Male role models in schools leads to disconnected Black boys. This would also lay the groundwork for her move to Nashville and her role as founding Chief Executive Officer of the Nashville Charter Collaborative, where she helps ensure families understand the full range of educational choices available to their children.
As Nashville families prepare for the new school year, learn more about Subira, the work of the Nashville Charter Collaborative, and how you can get involved.
What did the journey into the educational non-profit space look like for you?
I started my career working in the Connecticut Legislature, where I focused on criminal justice reform. We spent a lot of time thinking about how to reduce Connecticut’s prison population. I kept asking myself, “What does it mean to be rehabilitated?”
Then, about three or four years into that work, I toured this youth correctional facility. I remember walking through that building and seeing the face of my son in every young person that I walked by. There were so many young Black men and so many young Latino men.
I realized that each of them had, at some point in their lives, been connected to a school or the education system, but it had not prepared them for what came next. It was then that I really said to myself, “We need to start at the beginning.” I knew I needed to help ensure that young people, especially young Black men, had role models that looked like them in the education system.
This realization led me to help shape policies in Connecticut focused on educational diversity, with a particular emphasis on creating pathways for Black men to become certified teachers. That’s what brought me into education.
I saw how often the education system failed to serve Black boys, even as I was raising one myself. I did not want my son to become a statistic. I wanted to help build an education system that would see him fully, support him well, and give him every opportunity to succeed.
Why do you feel charter schools are needed right now in Nashville?
The history of charter schools is complicated. For a long time, many schools were criticized for rigid disciplinary practices and “no excuses” models that did not always serve students well.
I think the real work is finding the right balance: holding high expectations while creating environments where students are known, supported, and prepared for the futures they deserve.
Being in Nashville allows me to bring what I learned in the Northeast and use it to create more spaces of excellence for students. Charter schools are doing that, and I want to be a part of that movement. Nashville is home to charter schools doing strong work, and I’m excited to continue supporting that work.
Has your varied experience within government, civic engagement to seeing your own Mother create a school within your rural Jamaican community played a role in how you view the educational system?
I grew up in a community that had a 2% literacy rate. It was a farming community. We had no electricity, no running water. It was a deeply rural part of Jamaica.
Education was as important to my mother, so she built a school for the community. She wanted to make sure that the kids I was connected to could read and understand that a great education was within their reach. The first kids to go to college in my community went to my mom’s school. That is where my belief in the power of education started.
What does the role of Nashville Charter Collaborative play in the charter school space?
Our work is about supporting students and their families by being a trusted resource and ensuring our charter schools are delivering on the promise: to offer something different and create better opportunities for children.
We help make sure schools are delivering on that promise, and we work to ensure that every school leader in our network has the support and resources they need to lead successfully.
One of the strengths of Nashville is that families have many public school choices. Yes, many of us, as parents, default to what is familiar: the neighborhood school we attended or the school our parents and grandparents knew.
But education today doesn’t look like it did 20 or 30 years ago. As neighborhoods change and educational models evolve, a school that appears strong on the surface may still have outcomes for economically disadvantaged students and students of color that deserve closer attention. We help families understand all of their options so they can choose the pathway that best meets their child’s needs, including charter education.
How should parents approach choosing a school for their child?
As a parent, I say do the research. Look closely at the outcomes and experiences offered by both district and public charter school options. This information is not always easy to find, but choosing a school is one of the most consequential decisions you will make for your child.
Find a school that is the right fit. Look beyond academics and ask whether your child will feel seen, heard, supported, and inspired to thrive.
Photography: Trinity Kendrick (2026 Urbaanite Summer Photography Intern)
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