Heather Ngoma is the Founding Director of the Rutgers GSE Alternate Route Teacher Training Program for the State of New Jersey, a program which has helped more than 2,000 diverse career changers, recent college graduates and other aspiring education professionals become licensed teachers in New Jersey. She is responsible for the program vision-setting, overall program coordination and supervision of Rutgers Alternate Route training sites throughout New Jersey.
She has over 25 years of experience collaborating with educators across New Jersey to drive education innovation. In her previous role as REL Mid-Atlantic State Coordinator for New Jersey, Heather worked with state policy makers and district leaders to advance the research literacy among education practitioners, identify stakeholder research interests, and help coordinate relevant research initiatives for the region. Formerly the Director of the New Jersey Charter School Resource Center at Rutgers, Heather developed and managed charter-starter services, helping to increase the state’s charter school numbers from 13 1999 to 54 charter schools in 2007. She has presented at state and national conferences addressing issues of teacher diversity and accountability, and her writing has been published in regional media outlets, including eSchool News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Asbury Park Press. Heather publishes the Inspiring Teacher Leadership Blog which provides timely news, tips, and resources for educators.
Heather has served on advisory boards for Philip's Academy Charter School, Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, and Teach For America-New Jersey. She has been a contributing member for New Jersey Department of Education's Statewide Program Advisory Council and Education and Human Services Career Readiness and College Advisory Committee. She was also the New Jersey State Representative for the National Association for Alternative Certification. Heather earned her M.A. in English from Middlebury College and her B.A. from Grambling State University.
Why Education?
I love a good self-reinvention and come-up story. Working in education, I'm completely immersed in these stories. The career-changers who come to us with life-long dreams of teaching can realize them through our program, while the students they teach can realize their potential thanks to the caring and committed teachers we help to prepare. This work puts me in the midst of some of the most giving, resilient, and grateful people, and I consider it a privilege to work in this space.