About Us

Mark Gleason

I came to this city in 2011 to lead a new nonprofit called the Philadelphia School Partnership. I was attracted to the job because the founding board members had a big vision. Over 10 years at PSP, we raised more than $125 million and were able to invest those funds in schools and initiatives that have helped to move tens of thousands of Philadelphia students into better schools. PSP funded the launch of 20 new schools in the city, and the expansion and turnaround of more than 50 others. Along the way, we worked with nearly everyone in the city’s education sector: the Mayor’s Office, the School District, charter schools, the Archdiocese, local universities, national funders, local funders, community-based organizations, and more.

Today I work for a national education nonprofit called The Drexel Fund, which helps to create new private schools for under-served students. Earlier in my career, I worked as a journalist and then as a publishing entrepreneur. I started two businesses and helped to turn several others around. Over the years, I have lived or worked in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Those cities are amazing, each in their own way, but I’ll take Philly over all of them. My wife (a small-business owner) and I love living here. But I get frustrated by how much the city is not getting done: the lack of job growth, the continuing inequities in education, the obstacles we throw at small businesses, and more. There is too big of a gap between what our city is capable of and what we are achieving.