Lesley McClellan

Lesley Balido McClellan is an educational leader with over a decade of experience focused on strengthening educator pipelines and improving student outcomes through thoughtful system design. She began her career as a bilingual classroom teacher and later helped design and launch a high-quality early childhood system as part of the founding team for Pre-K 4 SA.

Lesley went on to serve as Senior Analyst of Research and Evaluation at The Holdsworth Center, where she partnered with public school districts across Texas to support leadership development and system-level change. Most recently, she served in district leadership as Strategic Compensation Lead, overseeing the design and implementation of compensation systems aligned to the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). In this role, she led work to strengthen educator evaluation, implement performance-based pay for teachers and principals, and align staffing decisions to student needs.

A recipient of the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award and a graduate of the Harvard University Institute for Leadership in Large-Scale Development, Lesley brings a district-side perspective grounded in practicality, coherence, and long-term impact.