Martrice Gandy

Martrice Gandy, a native of Niagara Falls, NY, is a special education expert and leader with a deep passion for improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities from our most marginalized communities.

The eldest daughter of an elementary school teacher, Martrice’s education career began at the age of 15 when she became the youngest Lead Preschool Teacher at a Summer Day Camp. She also taught Sunday School, Children’s Church, and Vacation Bible School, assisted in organizing church youth events, and eventually became the Director of Children’s Church by age 17.

In undergrad she teamed up with the AmeriCorps Jumpstart preschool program as a Corp Member and as a Team Leader. She also worked with America Reads as a Book Buddy Tutor in a local elementary school and as a tutor for middle and high school students at a group home.

Martrice began her formal teaching career in the self-contained setting at an alternative middle/high school in Baltimore, MD through the TNTP Baltimore Teaching Residency program. She went on to become the Special Education Coordinator, department chair, instructional coach and Director of Specialized Instruction within both traditional and charter schools systems in the DC and Baltimore areas. She obtained professional certification in the areas of Secondary English, Special Education, and School Leadership in both Maryland and DC.

She founded the nonprofit, MindWorks Collaborative as a way to tackle the talent quality and diversity issue that is often a barrier to ensuring that our most vulnerable students are given access to quality programs and services. Before founding MindWorks Collaborative, Martrice consulted with schools to improve academic and compliance systems in the areas of special education, response to intervention, talent management, and English/Language Arts. She also worked with students and families as a special education advocate and supplemental instruction support through her company, Gandy Education Partners. She began consulting after she was awarded the Education Pioneers Fellowship in 2015, which she completed in the Philadelphia/Camden, NJ areas.

Martrice received her Masters in Educational Leadership from Drexel University and her BA in English from the University of Virginia.