Supporting school and system leaders with developing
the mindsets, skill, habits, and systems for transformative instructional leadership.
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"Hi, I’m Vernon. So great to meet you!"
ABOUT US
VJR Consulting Firm
Our mission at VJR Consulting Firm is to support school and system leaders with developing the mindsets, skill, habits, and systems for transformative instructional leadership.
Our team of successful former and sitting school, network and district leaders specialize in instructional leadership, empowering our partners to drive measurable improvements in teacher development and student achievement. We provide data-informed strategies, strategic thought-partnership, practical resources, and hands-on coaching to drive achievement.
We are a boutique consulting firm with national impact. We envision a country in which every child attends a school led by an exceptional leader.
A Note From Our Founder
"As a first-generation college-student raised in a single-grandparent household, I have experienced first hand how education can open doors of opportunity. In my case, it has greatly impacted my life and the lives of my family, present and future. I also humbly recognize that systemic inequity in our country means that the same opportunities aren’t granted to everyone, particularly those who look like me and come from communities like mine. I have dedicated my professional life, and much of my personal life, to education as a tool for equity and social justice.
As a system-level leader in education, I commit to grounding myself in my beliefs, honoring the uniqueness of each school community’s needs and its leader’s vision, and leveraging system-wide the tried and true principles of data-informed instruction all in service of equitable student wellness and achievement. I envision myself effecting significant change by helping schools and educators achieve even results for students on a large scale: creating opportunity for Black and Brown children, demonstrating what is truly possible in American education, and building proof points of excellence in education that others learn from worldwide."
Learn More About Vernon
Learn More About Our Company
Co-Written by Vernon!
"You have been so inspirational to watch as a leader. You have modeled humility and reflection, and that is so incredibly powerful. Because of your reflection, and iterating on your practice, the work we are doing today is going to have a tremendous impact on our schools and our students. Creating routines without this lens would have perpetuated the systems we are trying to dismantle. Thank you for leading us through this work."
- Leah Harris, Northside Community School, the Opportunity Trust
Meet Our Admin Team
Admin Team | Professional Assistant
Kayla Gabel is a skilled virtual assistant and creative strategist with a strong background in administrative support, digital marketing, and client services. With over six years of experience, she thrives in fast-paced environments where organization, communication, and innovation are key.
She brings a unique combination of experiences in real estate administration, law enforcement, and photography. Whether she’s managing client communications, scheduling, or social media strategy, Kayla applies precision, efficiency, and a sharp creative eye to every detail.
Kayla enjoys being part of the VJR Consulting team because of its mission-driven focus, collaborative culture, and dedication to supporting educators and communities. She values the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work that drives real impact.
Her professional goal is to continue growing in roles that support organizational excellence and creative outreach—building lasting partnerships and taking on new challenges in a purpose-driven environment.
📸 Fun Fact: Kayla is a passionate photographer who loves capturing life’s moments—and is always on the lookout for the next perfect shot!
Kayla Gabel
Professional Assistant
Admin Team | Sales Assistant
Tiffany Mellard is a performing artist, arts educator, and advocate who thrives at the intersection of creativity and education. With a strong foundation in arts leadership, she is passionate about empowering others through innovative programming and inclusive practices.
She brings a diverse range of professional experiences in arts education, nonprofit leadership, and project management. Her work is rooted in both creativity and strategic thinking, which she leverages to support VJR Consulting Firm’s mission and clients.
Tiffany enjoys being part of the VJR Consulting team because of its collaborative culture, commitment to excellence, and alignment with her values as an educator and leader.
Her professional aspiration is to become a leading arts education program director—designing initiatives that celebrate creativity, equity, and community engagement.
🎵 Fun Fact: Tiffany curates themed playlists and has built a collection of over 30 unique lists—each one a soundtrack to a different vibe or moment!
Tiffany Mellard
Sales Assistant
Admin Team | Operations Manager
Brittany Jones serves as Operations Manager, VJR Consulting Firm, where she translates her K–12 leadership experience into durable operational systems for education and nonprofit clients. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Brittany’s path began as a passionate parent who wanted to make a larger impact on students’ learning environments. That commitment led her into school leadership, where she served as a founding assistant principal, Director of Operations, and later supported turnaround campuses, building processes that prioritized strong instruction, equity, and a sustainable school culture.
At VJR Consulting Firm, Brittany designs standard operating procedures, automations, KPI dashboards, and workflows that enable leaders to focus on teaching and student outcomes. She has managed onboarding and education-technology rollouts, always emphasizing clarity, accountability, and measurable results. Her practical systems thinking has helped teams reduce friction, accelerate delivery, and expand impact across district- and school-level initiatives.
A proud mother of five, Brittany balances family life with leadership and entrepreneurship. Between her and her husband, they hold five degrees. She has a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, with plans to continue her education at Clark Atlanta University. As the first educator in her family, she’s deeply committed to expanding access and representation in education. Brittany enjoys being part of VJR Consulting Firm because its mission-driven, collaborative culture gives her a platform to advance transformational leadership: turning strategy into everyday practice, removing operational barriers, and building practical, results-oriented solutions that close opportunity gaps for students.
💍💎Fun facts: Brittany has sung background vocals for a national recording artist, and in her spare time, she runs Rubies & Grace, a permanent-jewelry business.
Brittany Jones
Operations Manager
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Meet Our Consultant Network
Nikki Bascombe | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Education changed the trajectory of Nikki Bascombe’s life and she is paying it forward by leading and inspiring the young boys and girls of Uncommon Schools NYC.
Nikki Bascombe is completing her third year as an Elementary Regional Superintendent of Instruction for Uncommon Schools NYC after serving as the Principal of Excellence Girls Charter School Elementary Academy for 7 years.
Nikki grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She received her B.A. in Anthropology with a certificate in African-American Studies from Princeton University.
Nikki was a 2008 Teach for America Corps member and she joined Uncommon Schools as a first and second grade teacher and served as the Dean of Students at Leadership Prep Bedford Stuyvesant. She became an Uncommon Schools Instructional Fellow at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill where she learned best practices for leading a highly effective school. Nikki then served as the Principal at Excellence Girls Elementary Academy for 7 years and during the 2017-2018 school year she was the Senior Principal of both Excellence Boys and Excellence Girls Elementary Academies. Nikki now directly coaches 6 elementary principals and helps to manage the effectiveness of their schools as a Regional Superintendent in Brooklyn.
Nikki Bascombe
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Tameka Royal
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Tameka Royal | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
With nearly a decade and a half of service in public school education, Tameka specializes in coaching and growing school and district leaders to be revolutionary change agents within their communities. Serving in the roles of teacher, curriculum specialist, vice principal, principal, and superintendent, Tameka’s impact has been felt most through spearheading remarkable student outcomes, facilitating radical educator development, and establishing and maintaining incredible school cultures.
While born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Tameka has served and called school communities in Atlanta, GA, Washington, DC, Harlem, NY, and Newark, NJ home. From school founding to school turnaround, she has led students and staff to transformational growth and proficiency. Tameka holds the New York State record for the highest proficiency gains from one school year to the next as a teacher and has consistently led schools where over 90% of her students scored in the approaching, proficient, and advanced proficient state test categories, including post-COVID. Serving schools of predominantly Black and Brown students, with over 90% of students qualifying for free or reduced-priced lunch, Tameka makes it her mission to ensure that a child’s zip code does not determine their destiny.
Tameka’s impact does not stop within school walls. She is also a revered adjunct professor with Relay Graduate School of Education – a groundbreaking graduate school of education with a proven track record of ensuring teachers and leaders have replicable pathways to increase their effectiveness; a content facilitator with Deloitte’s Courageous Principals programs – an award-winning, global school leadership development program that equips K-12 leaders, superintendents, principals, and assistant principals, with the necessary skills to become more effective school leaders; and a founding board member of the Spiked Wellness Foundation – a non-profit organization that provides physical, mental, and financial wellness initiatives for underserved groups ages 12-18 and their families to improve and develop their mental and physical health and self-esteem.
Tameka holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University, an Advanced Professional Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership from Harvard University, and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from Relay Graduate School of Education. Tameka is held ten toes down by her amazing husband, Ade, as they raise her identical twin nieces (Talia and Nadia) and son (Royal). They make it their mission to ensure that impact and excellence are exercised as verbs rather than nouns!
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Nikki Jones
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Nikki Jones | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Nikki Jones is a distinguished educational leader currently serving as Senior Principal of North Star Academy, one of the highest performing charter schools in New Jersey and a proud member of the Uncommon Schools network. Under her visionary leadership, the school maintains its position as the top-ranked institution within the network, consistently demonstrating remarkable growth and resilience in closing pandemic-related achievement gaps.
Throughout her illustrious career, Nikki has garnered numerous accolades recognizing her excellence in education. She received the Best Practices Award from Newark Public Schools in 2001 and 2003, was honored as the Newark Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2011, and has been named Uncommon Principal of the Year for three consecutive years (2022, 2023, and 2024). In 2024 she received a Platinum School award from Leverage Leadership Institute (this award is for high performing principals and principal managers who serve in traditional and charter organizations from all over the world). Her leadership is characterized by a steadfast commitment to academic excellence, equity, and sustainability.
With over two decades of experience in public education, Nikki’s journey began in 1999 with Newark Public Schools. She spent five years as a classroom teacher, excelling in English instruction—achieving 100% mastery on state assessments for two consecutive years. Her passion for student success and instructional excellence propelled her into leadership roles, including 11 years as a principal and four years as a principal and leadership coach. Since transitioning to school leadership in 2014, she has consistently driven high performance, with her schools attaining some of the highest scores within the network. Her strategic focus on data-driven instruction and targeted interventions has resulted in significant gains, notably during the pandemic recovery period, where her schools achieved double-digit growth.
In her capacity as Senior Principal, Nikki excels not only in school improvement but also in cultivating leadership talent. She is widely recognized for her effective coaching and mentorship of aspiring and current school leaders, fostering a culture of continuous professional growth. Her expertise in leadership development enables her to empower others to excel, ensuring sustained organizational success across multiple schools and districts. She has also extended her influence beyond her immediate context through consulting roles with districts in North Carolina, Chicago, and Cincinnati, providing strategic guidance and leadership development.
Prior to her principalship, Nikki spent over nine years as a curriculum developer and instructional leader, shaping instructional practices across various settings. Her comprehensive background includes delivering high-impact professional development, coaching educators, and refining curriculum standards to elevate teaching and learning outcomes.
Nikki holds a teaching credential from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Montclair State University. Her dedication to educational equity, leadership excellence, and ongoing professional development makes her a transformative leader committed to inspiring others and advancing educational outcomes for all students.
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Lariely Garcia
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Lariely García | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Lariely García
is an accomplished educational leader with nearly two decades of experience advancing instructional excellence and school leadership across the globe. The daughter of Dominican immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, she earned a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an MS in Bilingual Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education.
Her career began as a Teach for America Corps member in the South Bronx, later serving as a teacher and leader with KIPP NYC before becoming the Founding Principal of KIPP: Freedom Middle School. In that role, she designed inclusive school models that elevated diversity, equity, and bilingual education for English learners and native Spanish speakers.
Currently, Lariely serves as Regional Director for One World Network of Schools, supporting leaders in the United States, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and South Sudan. Recognized with a Proclamation from the New York State Assembly, she continues to champion joyful rigor, bilingual education, and transformative leadership in schools worldwide.
I don't have any videos or other publications of my coaching (!) But I can work on getting those next week if you want to send them as an addendum later. You are welcomed to share my LinkedIn profile which shows the range of projects that I support. Here are a few outcomes of my coaching in the projects where I work directly with school principals:
Puerto Rico:
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Coached principals to:
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Write and execute staff development plans
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Roll out new curricula
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Manage staff culture shifts
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Outcomes:
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70% reduction in staff turnover, with no mid-year resignations
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50% reduction in student incidents
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Schools met 100% of State Test Academic Goals for the first time in school history
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Outperformed district and state averages
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Dominican Republic
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Led trainings and implementation visits for principals, assistant principals, and teachers on:
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Instructional leadership
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Literacy practices
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Outcomes:
Schools coached achieved 4x higher student reading proficiency compared to control schools
Jesse Corburn | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Jesse Corburn is currently a doctoral candidate at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, as a member of the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program’s Cohort 13. Most recently, Jesse served as a Regional Superintendent with Uncommon Schools from 2016-2023. In this role, Jesse provided weekly coaching to principals and instructional leaders across high schools in New York, Boston, Camden, and Newark, focusing on leadership to build and sustain schools defined by strong community and high achievement. Over this time, Jesse was also a lead designer and facilitator with Relay Graduate School of Education’s National Principal and Principal Supervisors Academy and was a member of Relay’s Leverage Leadership Institute’s (LLI) second cohort. Jesse has consulted with districts and trusts across the U.S. and U.K. in their quest for school improvement and has recently published a series of reports on School Leader Playbooks with partners at Relay.
Prior to his regional role, Jesse was the founding Principal of Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School (UCC) in Brooklyn, NY, which opened in 2012. During Jesse’s time as Principal, UCC’s student body earned a 75% AP Index by the time they graduated, exceeded the national SAT college-ready benchmark, and sustained a graduation rate of 100%. Prior to becoming a Principal, Jesse was a founding teacher at KIPP King Collegiate High School in San Lorenzo, California where he taught AP World History and then served as Assistant Principal from 2007-2011. Before this role, Jesse started his teaching career in Harlem, NY, teaching high school history and English as a Teach for America Corps Member from 2003-2007. Jesse holds a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University and an M.S. Secondary Education from Pace University.
Jesse Corburn
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
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Denarius Frazier | Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Denarius Frazier is a Regional Superintendent of Instruction for Uncommon Schools in New York City, a Senior Advisor on the Teach Like a Champion (TLAC) Consulting & Partnerships Team, and the co-author of Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging. Before becoming a Superintendent, he served as the Principal of an Uncommon High School for 4 years where he led his team and students to achieve some of the highest results in the school’s history. Denarius began his career in education in 2014 as a Teach for America Corps Member where he taught high school math. As a math teacher and thinker, he worked hard to foster a rigorous and joyful classroom, earned outstanding academic outcomes, taught multiple classes – from Algebra I to Calculus – and designed math curricula for several years. In 2022, he was named High School Principal of Year for his leadership and impact. He is on the cover of the international best-selling book Teach Like a Champion 3.0 and his work is highlighted in Leverage Leadership 2.0 and Driven by Data. Now featured in 30+ TLAC videos, Frazier’s classroom is used as a model and proof point of master teaching and high expectations in workshops across the world.
Denarius holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Morehouse College, a M.A. in Biotechnology from Columbia University, and a M.A. in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education.
Denarius Frazier
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Monica Blasingame
Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Monica Blasingame| Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Monica Blasingame is the Principal of McDonough High School in McDonough, Georgia, where she has proudly served for the past three years. Now in her 22nd year in education, Monica has built a career rooted in equity, excellence, and service to students. Prior to leading McDonough High, she served as principal of a metro Atlanta middle school for two years, following earlier roles as an assistant principal, special education lead teacher, and district compliance specialist. Her background spans K–12 settings, and she began her career as a special education teacher—an experience that continues to ground her belief in inclusive, student-centered practices.
Over the span of her career, Monica has served in three major metro Atlanta school districts and worked with students and families from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. She has been instrumental in supporting school turnaround efforts, consistently resulting in double-digit academic gains across multiple schools. Her greatest passion, however, lies in leading schools that are often marginalized and under-resourced—where the need is great, but so is the potential.
In addition to her role as a high school principal, Monica actively contributes to the development of other leaders. She serves as a Cluster Lead Principal and Principal Mentor in Henry County Schools and currently coaches over 20 school leaders as an Advisor with Relay Graduate School of Education. She is a member of the Relay Leverage Leadership Advisory Team and the HCS Special Education Advisory Committee, and she is a proud alumna of the Relay Leverage Leadership Institute (Cohort 9). Monica was also named an APS Equity Champion in 2022–2023 for her commitment to ensuring all students have access to high-quality instruction and opportunity.
Monica brings a collaborative, data-informed approach to leadership and is known for building strong school cultures, raising expectations, and empowering teams to do the hard and necessary work of school transformation. She looks forward to working alongside fellow leaders to support student success and drive lasting, meaningful change.
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Kimberly Griffith| Learning Facilitator & Leadership Coach
As the K-12 Senior Director of Development and Support for Deans of Students, Kimberly Griffith proudly provides professional development and coaching for over 90 culture leaders across 54 schools that serve over 22,000 students. Prior to her role at Uncommon Schools, she served as a Dean of Students and Middle School Math Teacher in Newark, Philadelphia and New Orleans. Kim is a proud Blue Devil, earning her B.A. from Duke University and is currently enrolled in The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management earning her Masters in Public Education Management.
