Dear Members of the Virginia Chance School Community:
As a follow-up to my September 30, 2020 communication about the finalists for the Virginia Chance Head of School position and the community forums scheduled for each, I would now like to share information about our first candidate, Lopa Mehrotra. Lopa Mehrotra will be on campus for interviews and forum sessions on Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th.
As with all of the candidates, we will hold community forums for faculty, staff and parents to ask questions and learn more about Lopa Mehrotra and her candidacy. Her bio is below. We hope that you will strongly consider attending the parent forums, and that you will also provide feedback about Lopa Mehrotra using the anonymous survey link below. The search committee will carefully review all comments and feedback provided. If you would like a reminder of the job description for our next Head of School you can review the Information for Candidates Report.
As a reminder, below are the times and locations of the forums.
October 15 – 1:00-1:30 pm
Virtual Forum for Parents - Google Meet
October 16 – 9:00-9:45 am
Virtual Forum for Parents - Google Meet
Out of our concern to respect the confidentiality of the candidates and their roles, we ask that you not share the information provided here with anyone outside of the Chance community. The candidates have communicated to appropriate personnel their decisions to pursue the Head of School role at Virginia Chance School, but others in their current places of employment may not be aware of their candidacies.
The school will send similar messages in advance of the second finalist’s visit to campus. On behalf of the entire search committee, I look forward to reviewing your thoughts and feedback on each candidate.
Sincerely,
Ashley Butler
Chair, Head of School Search Committee
Candidate 1 Biography: Lopa Mehrotra
Lopa Mehrotra is an innovative non-profit executive and servant leader who has impacted education for children and adults globally. As a leader, Lopa places a high emphasis on collaboration, compassion and strategy.
Believing in the power of education, Lopa founded the on-line science program TestToob that enabled teachers and children in over 60 countries to engage in the wonder and self-expression of science education. For this work, she was selected as a speaker for TEDx, where she discussed the link between play in childhood and innovation in adulthood. Lopa has also served as the CEO of Women 4 Women (Louisville, KY) and as the Co-CEO of Grameen Australia (Sydney, NSW). Through these organizations, she has empowered and advocated for women living in or near poverty to achieve financial literacy, receive basic business education, become entrepreneurs, and educate their children.
As a first generation American, Lopa lives the values of education and lifelong learning. She is a firm believer in the power of Progressive education in developing 21st century students and 21st century citizens. Virginia Chance School has been instrumental in shaping Lopa as a parent, leader and student: she is the parent of two alumni, has served on the Board for a total of 9 years (including as Board President), and completed her Master’s program menteeship at the school. Through her relationship with Virginia Chance School, Lopa has affirmed that childhood matters, progressive education matters, and cultures of dignity and respect matter.
Lopa cares deeply about being of service to Louisville and currently serves on the Boards of the Community Foundation of Louisville, James Graham Brown Foundation, Greater Louisville Project, and Speed Art Museum. She is particularly passionate about using these platforms to help develop a more equitable Louisville.
She is a graduate of University of Louisville (B.A. Political Science), University of New South Wales (Graduate Certificate, Social Impact), and Indiana University Bloomington (Master’s in Educational Leadership).
Lopa is married to her best friend, Rishabh, with whom she is raising two daughters - Ayala (17, Louisville Collegiate School), and Ariana (19, Tufts University). Together they have lived on 2 continents, visited over a dozen countries, skied joyfully, surfed badly, and cooked passionately. In her personal time, Lopa enjoys the arts, her garden, swimming, meditation, and bringing friends and family together at her home in Glenview.
