Niloy Gangopadhyay serves as the Director of Special Populations at the Texas Education Agency. In this role, he supports the state's programing for highly mobile & at-risk, English learners, and gifted & talented students. Prior to that, he was the co-founder and executive director of Success Preparatory Academy, a K-8th grade charter school in the Treme/Bienville Corridor for ten years. Before moving to New Orleans, he was the founding principal of Cleveland Lighthouse Community School where he served as the instructional and operational leader of kindergarten through 6th grade. Before that, he served as the Director of Special Projects at Excellence Charter School of the Uncommon Schools network in Brooklyn, New York. His initial entry into urban education was as a 2002 Teach For America (TFA) corps member in San Jose, California where he taught 4th grade. He holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master's in Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.