Penny Schwinn

Penny Schwinn is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in education, public policy, and strategic systems leadership. From 2019 to 2023, she served as Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education, where she led major statewide reforms, including the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, which modernized the state’s 30-year-old school funding formula, and Reading 360, a comprehensive literacy initiative that drove record gains in early reading. Schwinn also launched the nation’s first federally recognized teacher apprenticeship program, establishing a new model for addressing educator shortages and modernizing teacher preparation. Following her tenure in Tennessee, Schwinn serves as an Operating Partner at The Vistria Group and advises national organizations, large corporations, and non-profits on high-impact, systems-level strategy and implementation. Prior to her work in Tennessee, she held senior leadership positions in Texas and Delaware state agencies and in large urban school districts, where she advanced student achievement, strengthened accountability systems, and improved operational performance. Schwinn holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley; Johns Hopkins University; and Claremont Graduate University. She resides in Nashville with her children and remains committed to strengthening education systems nationwide through innovative, outcomes-focused, and locally driven solutions.