Our Team

Leveraging over 25 years serving as strategic and operational education leaders, our team has refined a framework of thinking – our Blueprint – to accelerate achievement at scale across K-12 schools and educational institutions.

FOUNDER ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Managed a K-12 portfolio of up to 19 schools - 10,000+ students - that performed in the top 1-3% of New York State

  • Led a Title 1 high school of over 800 students to break into the USNWR rankings, and became one of the top 15 schools in New York State, and one of the top 120 schools in the nation

  • Built a college access program that achieves 100% 4-year college acceptance, every year

WORK WITH US

Founder Biographies

  • Barbara Gao Shapiro

    Founder & CEO

    Before founding Blueprint to Great Schools, Barbara led high school and college access programs for over 6 years at the largest network of K-12 charter schools in New York City.

    She serves on advisory boards for the University of Pennsylvania (from which she earned degrees in finance and history) and Columbia University. Barbara lives in New York with her husband and son, occasionally performing on stage (and on national television).

  • Rita Deng

    Co-Founder & Managing Partner

    Before co-founding Blueprint to Great Schools, Rita spent more than a decade at the largest charter school network in New York City, where she started as a teacher before accelerating into leadership, spending time as an assistant principal, principal and finally, as the youngest K-12 superintendent (School Manager) in the network’s history – a position she maintained for 5 years.

    She earned her Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University. Rita loves exploring the world with her husband and three children.

  • Rachel Keane

    Co-Founder & Managing Partner

    Before co-founding Blueprint to Great Schools, Rachel spent a decade as an elementary school teacher and then middle school and high school leader in the largest charter network in New York City. Most recently, she was the principal of a Title 1 high school serving over 800 students for 4 years.

    She earned her Master’s in Education from Touro College and her undergraduate degree from James Madison University. Rachel is an avid reader and long-distance runner, having completed the New York City Marathon in 2024.