From Substitute to Superintendent: Dr. Simone Griffin on Leading with Courage and Care

What does it take to lead a district through transformation while honoring the lived realities of students, educators, and community members? In this powerful episode of Voices for Excellence — part of our fourth annual Black Excellence series — Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Dr. Simone Griffin, Superintendent of Benton Harbor Area Schools in Michigan. Together, they explore the deep work of instructional leadership, community-centered change, and building the future of education in real time.

Dr. Griffin brings a grounded, empathetic, and courageous approach to leadership informed by her journey from day-to-day substitute teacher to superintendent. She shares the bold ways she’s centering student voice, operationalizing equity through co-created curriculum committees, and addressing teacher burnout with wellness frameworks that treat educators as the human capital driving system-wide excellence.

With characteristic vision and vulnerability, Dr. Conner and Dr. Griffin dive into what it means to prepare learners — and leaders — for a 22nd-century economy marked by volatility, complexity, and exponential change. From cultivating collective efficacy to embracing AI as a tool for innovation (not a threat), this conversation is a vivid blueprint for transformation rooted in grace, intellectual rigor, and community.

What you’ll learn:

1. Bold leadership means leading with empathy — not ego.
2. Data doesn’t drive change — people do. Build relational trust first.
3. AI is here. Educators must lean into discomfort to prepare students for the future.
4. Co-design with stakeholders creates systems that serve, not sort.
5. Stability during volatility requires vision, transparency, and adaptive strategy.
6. Equity, innovation, and courage aren’t add-ons — they are the work.

Through the lens of Dr. Conner’s 22nd Century Education Model, Dr. Griffin shows what’s possible when superintendents prioritize modeling, feedback, and shared mental models to drive transformation from the classroom to the boardroom.

This episode is a masterclass in systems leadership that redefines both what excellence means and who gets to achieve it. Dr. Conner continues his mission to build equitable, innovative, and high-performing education ecosystems where every learner can thrive in the future they will inherit.

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