Dr. Ethan Ake-Little’s career is a masterclass in purposeful leadership. With each professional chapter, he has built a comprehensive, interdisciplinary skill set that uniquely positions him to navigate the complexities of executive-level decision-making in education and beyond.
He began his journey in the classroom, teaching biology at both a low-income public school in inner-city Philadelphia and an independent prep school in the suburbs. These early experiences provided a window into the wide disparities in educational opportunity and sparked a passion for systems-level change.
As Assistant Director of STEM Academies for the School District of Philadelphia, he translated that passion into action—securing a 10-year, $10 million grant from GlaxoSmithKline and overseeing the launch of a multi-school STEM pilot program. Having spent years at the front of the classroom, he returned to the other side of the desk as a doctoral student in education policy and organizational change at Temple University. There, he stepped into union leadership as President of the Temple University Graduate Students Association (AFT Local #6290), where he chaired a successful contract negotiation for over 800 members. He later became Executive Director of AFT Pennsylvania, guiding more than 36,000 members across 60 affiliates through strategic and organizational transitions. He later brought that same commitment to large-scale educational improvement to the School District of Philadelphia as Assistant Director of STEM Academies, securing a 10-year, $10 million GlaxoSmithKline grant to launch a multi-school STEM pilot program. He ultimately went on to serve as Executive Director of AFT Pennsylvania, guiding more than 36,000 members across 60 affiliates during pivotal organizational transitions.
His career then evolved into senior HR leadership in public education, where he served as Director of Human Resources for two of Pennsylvania’s most respected mid-sized school districts. In this role, Dr. Ake-Little managed multimillion-dollar budgets, developed compensation and benefits strategies, and helped redesign evaluation systems that tied educator performance to student success. His leadership extended beyond HR, supporting business operations and information technology support, exemplifying his ability to integrate across silos to deliver lasting institutional impact.
Underpinning this practical leadership is a strong foundation in research and data. Holding a Ph.D. in Urban Education from Temple University, Dr. Ake-Little is a skilled quantitative analyst whose dissertation on teacher compensation and retention earned national recognition from the American Educational Research Association. His academic rigor continues to inform his data-driven, equity-focused approach to leadership.
Now pursuing a J.D. at Temple University Beasley School of Law, he is expanding his capacity to lead at the intersection of legal, educational, and organizational systems.
Outside the office and classroom, Dr. Ake-Little is an avid traveler, LEGO architecture enthusiast, and horror film fan. He lives in suburban Philadelphia with his spouse and their two dogs.