Anissa Listak

Senior Advisor and CEO-designate

Anissa L. Listak joins TPI-US as its Chief Executive Officer, bringing more than 25 years of experience as a visionary executive and systems strategist dedicated to leading mission-driven organizations, transforming teacher preparation, and advancing equity-centered education systems nationwide. She is nationally recognized as the founder and former CEO of the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR), where she launched and scaled the teacher residency movement—building a multimillion-dollar national nonprofit that partnered with more than 75 school districts and prepared thousands of teachers annually. Under her leadership, NCTR secured over $70 million in public and philanthropic funding, including a groundbreaking $20 million Black Educators Initiative, and shaped federal and state policy to strengthen teacher preparation, licensure, and sustainability. She also led comprehensive organizational operations—including finance, HR, legal, and IT systems—while guiding governance, DEIB strategy, and long-term strategic planning across staff and board teams.

From 2023 to 2025, Anissa served as a Principal Consultant at Education First, partnering with state agencies, foundations, and nonprofits to design coherent systems for teacher preparation, educator pipelines, and statewide assessment reform. She led multi-state engagements and supported philanthropic clients in aligning funding strategies with equity and instructional priorities. A systems thinker adept at navigating complexity, she is known for identifying root causes of organizational and policy challenges and crafting high-impact, scalable solutions.

Anissa holds a Master of Science in Public Service Management from DePaul University, a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Dayton, and certificates in Diversity & Inclusion and Change Management from Cornell University.