Will Gardner is an educational consultant and entrepreneur. He is the founder and former Executive Director of Alma del Mar Charter Schools in New Bedford. Alma’s mission is to put every one of its scholars on the path to college and to challenge them to be service-minded leaders. During Will’s time at Alma, the organization grew from having one school serving 120 scholars to having two schools serving over 1,000 scholars. Alma has been recognized for strong academic achievement, proactive family engagement and exemplary work with English language learners. Prior to founding Alma del Mar, Will ran after school programming for middle schoolers in New Bedford. He began his career as a teacher with Teach for America in the Mississippi Delta. He has a BA from Wesleyan University and M.Ed.from Harvard. He lives in Fairhaven with a badass librarian, two quirky kids and a pit mix.
