Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Institute of Nevada

Judi Steele is Founder and CEO of the Leadership Institute of Nevada. She has served local, national, and international education and business communities as an educator, business owner, consultant, and executive coach. She is an Education Innovator and Entrepreneur and was a Co-Founder and CEO of the Public Education Foundation.

Judi has championed public education and the arts, and she is a respected thought leader guided by an entrepreneurial spirit and the courage to challenge conventional wisdom. She was active in the civil rights movement and is a champion of equal rights and human justice. She has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all children.

Judi was born and raised in New York City and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and elementary education from Hunter College. She began her distinguished education career as a fifth grade teacher at P.S. 171 in East Harlem.

Before beginning her career with the Clark County School District (CCSD), Judi taught elementary and middle school in Providence, Rhode Island, where she began her graduate studies at Brown University. She completed her Master of Education degree in secondary and adult education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Judi’s career with CCSD began as a classroom teacher at C.V.T. Gilbert Prestige School. She also served as Integration Consultant with the Intergroup Education Department. She was a Team Leader for Teacher Corps, a Summer School Site Administrator, the first teacher of the Academically Talented Program, and the first coordinator of Child Find.

As the Director of Special Education Programs and Services for the District, Judi developed and implemented procedures and staff development activities to ensure that all students with disabilities received a free, public, and appropriate education. She was responsible for district-wide programs for the visually, aurally, and emotionally challenged, learning disabled, and academically talented students.

Judi designed CCSD’s first Individualized Education Program, established multi-disciplinary team processes, and supervised speech and language therapists, school nurses, and teachers of the academically talented.

In 1987, Judi took a leave of absence to assist with some political campaigns and became President of Steele & Associates, a management consulting firm offering executive coaching. In 1991, she returned to CCSD and served in a dual role as Manager of the Office of Development and Education Improvement and Co-Founder of the Clark County Public Education Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization established to improve public education in Southern Nevada.

In 2001, Judi retired from the District and was named President and CEO of The Public Education Foundation. Under her leadership, the Foundation was recognized for working collaboratively with Nevada school districts and for leadership in creating and sponsoring innovative results-driven initiatives.

In 2010, during Judi’s tenure, the Public Education Foundation piloted a talent development initiative called the Leadership Institute of Nevada. Driven by her unwavering belief that people make the difference and leadership matters, the Institute’s Executive Leadership Development Programs were incubated under the umbrella of the Foundation. These programs were designed to respond to today’s education challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities.

Emerging from the pandemic, the roles of the Institute and the Foundation diverged, and Judi worked with community leaders to establish the Institute as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) Nevada corporation, ensuring that the Institute’s mission remains unchanged. She is committed to identifying, developing, and retaining exceptional leaders in education and to engaging public and private sector leaders to drive significant, systemic improvement in public education.

Judi has received numerous honors and awards for her lifelong service to children, families, and the community. In 2006, the Clark County Board of School Trustees honored her, as she became the namesake of the Judith D. Steele Elementary School.

Judi has been inducted into the CCSD Educational Excellence Hall of Fame. She has served on many boards of directors, advisory boards, and was the Founder and President of the Arts Council of Henderson and “Nevada Shakespeare in the Park.”

In 2014 and 2015, Judi was included among “Las Vegas’ Top 100 Women of Influence” in MyVegas magazine and, in 2014, she received the first Distinguished Endeavor Award in Education presented by Distinguished Women in Nevada. In 2021, she was listed in Women in Power Business Magazine as one of 10 Influential Women In Nevada. In March 2022, she was recognized by the Nevada State Treasurer’s Office Women’s History Month, Celebrate Women in Nevada.

Judi has a daughter, Elyse, a son, Arthur, and two granddaughters, Taylor and Haley. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, photography, and writing.

With vision, passion and boundless energy, Judi has lived by the Talmudic philosophy: “If not now, when? If not me, who?”