Derek Richey is an accomplished executive leader with more than two decades of experience driving financial strategy and operational excellence in mission-driven organizations. He has held senior leadership roles overseeing budgets ranging from $50 million to over $1 billion, consistently aligning resources with organizational priorities and long-term sustainability goals. Derek’s expertise spans financial stewardship, strategic planning, and team development, complemented by a proven ability to negotiate complex agreements and implement systems that enhance efficiency and impact.
Derek has dedicated much of his career to improving student outcomes and expanding opportunities for students furthest from opportunity. His journey includes serving as a school board member in Kansas City (MO), leadership roles in major urban school districts, including serving as Chief Financial Officer for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and, most recently, as the Chief Financial Officer of Relay Graduate School of Education. In these roles, he championed initiatives such as weighted-student funding formulas, financial sustainability models, and resource strategies that empowered school leaders and advanced student achievement.
Derek holds a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and earned master’s degrees in business administration and education leadership from London Business School and the University of Missouri. He also completed the Broad Residency in Urban Education, a program designed to cultivate transformative leaders in public education. Recognized as a “Leader to Learn From” by Education Week, Derek continues to bring a learner mindset and strategic vision to every endeavor, committed to creating systems that foster innovation and long-term success.
Why did you decide to join DFI’s board?
A student's teacher is consistently identified as the most important school-based factor that impacts their success. With the increased role schools and teachers are being expected to play, the demands on teachers have never been greater. As such, the way they are prepared and supported is critical to their success - and ultimately the success of our students and schools. I'm excited to join the DFI Board because of the organization's unwavering commitment to ensuring that every student experiences and benefits from a well-prepared and supported teacher.
What is one pivotal moment in your career that helped shape how you view your own role in supporting instructional quality?
Joining the school board of a disproportionately low income / high need school district was an eye-opening, wake-up call from which I still carry many lessons. One that shines bright is both the deepened understanding of the importance of having a quality teacher in every classroom and the realization that those teachers are not ubiquitous or equally distributed between rural, suburban, and urban areas or even within the same school districts. While this is obvious to me now, it was profound at the time. It is from this experience that I decided to commit myself to this type of work.
Describe a teacher or student who made a lasting impact in your life.
Mr. Frank, my high school world history teacher. He taught in a way that ignited a lifelong love of history, and his dedication to ensuring students learned was memorable. One day I walked into a dark classroom to find Mr. Frank lying on his back in the middle of the room. He proceeded to teach us a lesson about Japan - a culture he was particularly passionate about - in the dark on his back because he had a migraine headache and he did not want to miss school. While he probably should have taken the day off to care for himself, his dedication has stuck with me for decades.
What most excites you about the work of transforming educator preparation?
A single teacher and a school of outstanding educators can have a transformative and lasting impact on a person’s life. I am excited about the opportunity to continue studying what students need from their teachers and supporting the implementation of and advocacy for resources, tools, practices, systems, and policies that prepare teachers to deliver it.