Meet the Founders
With a combined 25 years of classroom teaching experience across multiple settings and contexts, we each bring unique perspectives, experiences, and strengths to our team. We firmly believe in drawing on the brilliance in the room to influence, uplift, and elevate for good.
Shannon Finnegan
An innovative and learner-centered educator and thought leader who is committed to partnering with students and their families to reimagine and reinvent the education system. Shannon has been an educator for 15 years and was a top ten finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2020.
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Originally from Mankato, MN, Shannon earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies and Secondary Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato and her Master’s degree in International Education from New York University. She has taught at Mankato West High School in Mankato, MN where she helped found a 9th Grade Academy; the School for Democracy and Leadership in Brooklyn, NY where she was active in implementing Restorative Justice; and the Hopkins Alternative Program in Hopkins, MN where she lead Restorative Justice implementation work. Most recently, she has worked as a consultant and professional development facilitator for Thrive Ed, a local nonprofit, as well as a program designer and engagement guide for the Collaborative Lab School launched by Thrive Ed and Hopkins Public Schools.
Breana Jacques
An educator and thought leader who shares power and resources with learners to champion their expectations of self rather than rely on people and systems to define their existence. Further, Breana embodies a learner centeredness approach that encourages all to pose questions to one another, in order to challenge their practices and change predictable outcomes through systemic change. ​
Originally from Houston, Texas, she earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota as well as a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She began her career with Minneapolis Public Schools and then in Wichita, Kansas and back to the Twin Cities at St. Louis Park Public Schools. With over 10 years in the middle and high school classroom as a Social Studies Teacher, Breana finds meaning in utilizing the brilliance in the room to inspire, provoke change, and create something new. Most recently, she has worked with Thrive Ed and Hopkins Public Schools on a transformative, reimagined school launch - Collaborative Lab School.
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