I help EdTech startups and mission-driven education companies scale smartly - from messy beginnings to meaningful impact.

With over a decade of experience spanning classroom instruction, curriculum design, product strategy, and organizational operations, I now work with pre-seed, Series A, and growing educational organizations to build better learning experiences, stronger systems, and more strategic teams.

I specialize in:

- Curriculum and product development (especially experiential, SEL, STEM, and AI-integrated learning)
- Operational infrastructure and go-to-market strategy
- Policy-informed AI professional development for educators
- Branding, messaging, and community-building
- Cross-functional team leadership with a human-first approach

Whether I’m serving as a fractional COO, leading market research, developing a data dashboard, or building a gamified student learning journey - I’m a connector, a problem-solver, and a builder.

If you’re a founder or education leader looking to move faster without sacrificing quality, let’s connect.

Claire Smizer

Happy #SocialSaturday!

If you are an #Educator, #Principal, #DistrictAdministrator, someone in the #Curriculum, #School or #Classroom IT space, or anyone that works with or has ever worked with #Schools, #Districts, or organization that serves kids - we should be connected! 💯

In a nutshell: I'm a former #Teacher, turned #EdTech generalist that specializes in early stage #StartUps and #UserExperience (think #ProductDesign, #UI, #InstructionalDesign, #L&D) - I've been fortunate to have a wonky career path that has given me the opportunity to work across neurotech (that bordered on sci-fi!), #STEM, gamified #SEL, and even with a handful of founders working on much-needed products in the #Education space. 

What do I do now? I run BrightMinds AI with my best friend and co-founder, Jessica Maddry. 🥰🥰🥰

We're two former #Teachers who got tired of watching districts adopt #AI and innovative tech backwards - tools first, strategy maybe. BrightMinds flips that. We build policies, train educators, and audit tech stacks so districts make informed decisions, putting people first, always. 

Think that sounds like someone you'd like to have in your network? Smash that connect button! 

Can't wait to see you in my DMs!

💜 me!

Co-Founder @ BrightMinds AI | Board Member | EdTech Start-up Builder and Strategist 🌀| Teacher Advocate | Oxford Comma Enthusiast

Let's talk math for a moment. #Politician math. 😒

The proposed FY2026 federal budget cuts over $6 billion from #K-12 #PublicEducation. 

Not one program. 
Not one state. 
Across the board.

$6B is a large number - a really large number. So large that it's almost incomprehensible so... what does that look like in reality?

💸 Migrant Education: $1.3 billion. Poof.
💸 English Language Acquisition: Eliminated entirely.
💸 Title I funding to high-poverty schools: $4.7 billion. Gone.
💸 18 grant programs consolidated from $6.5 billion down to $2 billion - over a 60% reduction.
💸 Community Schools grants: $168 million. Cut.

But we won't be feeling that loss evenly. #Districts primarily serving #Students of color would lose nearly double the funding that their counterparts serving primarily white students will face.

Want an example? 

In #Pennsylvania, the districts most underfunded are also those where students of color make up the majority of enrollment - 64%, compared to 22–30% in adequately funded districts. That gap equals $1,732 less per student, nearly 9% less, in state and local revenue. Federal dollars can help (or rather would have helped) to bridge that disparity.

This isn’t a budget conversation. It’s a values conversation. It's an #Equity conversation.

When #Legislators use language like “local control”, they aren't talking about community empowerment. They're obfiscating the truth. They're asking (telling, really) local communities to make do. 

With less. 

For the kids who already had the least.

I’m not sharing this to spark outrage (though we should all feel outraged). 

I share this to bring attention to the tension local decision makers - #Superintendents, #CFOs, #SchoolBoard members - are grappling with. 

Too many conversations about “innovation” in #Education gloss right over the part where the floor is being pulled out. Purposefully. Systematically.

You can’t build on a foundation that's actively being dismantled.

💜 someone who thinks *actual* math should inform policy

#Teachers! Help!!! 

I'm trying to get a general temperature check on where we are with Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) in classrooms. 

Are you able to set your own?
Is that something that feels necessary in this moment?
Is that something you'd expect for your district or even school leaders to set and roll out? 

You know Jessica & me - we're always looking to close gaps and create useful tools! 

❤️  someone very excited to be building tools that #Educators actually want

#Education #K12 #TeachersofLinkedin #AIinEducation #InnovativeTech #AcceptableUse #ItTakesAVillage

Do you have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for AI-enabled/enhanced tech in your classroom?

Renovo Financial

Production Assistant

Ag Women Connect

- Creative Branding & Content Design

- Communications & Copyrighting for all media content  

- Social Media Planning & Management 

- Leadership, Development & Oversight of National Chapters 

- Planning & Execution of Fundraising, Leadership and Networking Events

Operations Director

LendingOne, LLC

- Demonstrated expertise in developing and analyzing appraisal review guidelines, aligning them with lender guidelines and regulatory compliance standards resulting in a workflow efficiency increase of 48% from a department average of 230 files per month to average 340 files per month

- Supervised and directed appraisal department ensuring adherence to company established guidelines and timelines for appraisal to loan requirements

- Addressed technical concerns related to appraiser questions and reviewer feedback after appraisal delivery as an adept troubleshooter resulting in a 20% decrease of files needing revisions and corrections

- Fostered a culture of continuous learning and development by actively promoting cross-functional team collaboration and training in order to increase awareness of team member roles and responsibilities and how they function together within the collaborative unit. 

- Provided expert guidance to team members and stakeholders alike with comprehensive knowledge of appraisal regulatory requirements and standards resulting in improved underwriting reviews and a decrease in rejected applications.

Appraisal Review Manager

Promoted from Appraisal Team Lead
Hire, train and supervise in house Appraisal Coordinators 
Monitor daily work flows to meet deadlines of Closing Calendar
Complete staff performance reviews 
Alongside senior management, develop appraisal coordinator workflows for improved efficiency
Develop new workflow for appraisal ordering using integrated systems
Complete month end productivity reports and retrospectives

Lead Appraisal Coordinator, Promoted from Appraisal Coordinator
Coach Appraisal Coordinators with technical questions related to appraisal reports and order processes
First level of escalation 
Managed panel of appraisers and AMCs
Managed departmental invoice processing
Assisted Team Manager with month end reports
Continued Appraisal Coordinator duties (detailed below)

 Appraisal Coordinator
Assign and track appraisal orders in accordance with loan type and purpose
Inter-departmental communication via CRM to update deal teams on appraisal report status
Review order documents for accuracy

Appraisal Team Manager

Colonnade Properties

- Assisted the Property Manager in the day-to-day operations of a portfolio of nine corporate office buildings

- Oversaw maintenance and engineering teams to ensure the timely upkeep of properties and reduce the number of emergency work orders thus saving the ownership money on unplanned costs

- Managed capital improvement projects from proposal requests, negotiations, contracts, scheduling, and budget management to ensure adherence to budget and timelines resulting in time savings and increased tenant confidence in management

- Managed tenant build-out projects, including contractor bidding, change order management, site inspections, and budget management, to ensure compliance with tenant needs and specifications and reduction of change orders and delays

- Assisted in the preparation of the annual budget, ensuring that financial goals and objectives were met and all relevant information was accurately recorded.

Assistant Property Manager

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman

SBA Communications

REHIRE: previously employed Sept. 2012 - Mar. 2013
- Formulated and defined the scope, schedule, milestones, tasks, and objectives for the construction of cell towers across the United States, including bid calls, status updates, and change orders to increase client coverage nationwide.

- Supported cross-functional teams in capturing and analyzing data and updating on the sequence of work across the scope of active construction projects, ensuring timely and efficient completion of projects and improved workflow.

- Collaborated with zoning, site acquisition, and site leasing teams to ensure compliance with organization, carrier, and local jurisdiction requirements to decrease the number of rejected cellular development sites. 

- Conducted regular meetings and communication with the teams to ensure alignment of goals, priorities, and timelines as well as coordinated with external stakeholders, such as local authorities and community groups, to obtain necessary permits and approvals for project activities to maintain and improve timelines and avoid delays.

- Monitored and tracked project progress and outcomes to identify any potential risks or issues and made recommendations for improvements to processes and workflows.

Construction Project Coordinator

Real Estate Industry Pro for the last 20yrs from Residential & Commercial Property Management, Sales & Leasing, Construction, Valuation and Lending. 

Operations Director & Community Builder for Women In Agriculture Nationwide with Ag Women Connect in an effort to share and support the stories of those involved with our food production system day in and day out. Aspiring rancher/cowgirl at heart 😉

Advocate for animal welfare and rescuer of Pit-bulls and Pit-Mixes through Sofia’s Second chance Animal Rescue founded alongside husband. 

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Claire Smizer's LinkedIn Performance

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