Dr. Arria Coburn - Your Team is Not a Family — It’s a Partnership for Impact

What happens when a new leader inherits a tight-knit “school family”—then faces budget cuts? Or when you’re asked to define your leadership style before you even know how to lead? In this episode, Dr. Arria Coburn opens up about her evolution as an educational leader: from criminal justice major to special education teacher to award-winning principal and now district executive.

Dr. Arria Coburn brings nearly two decades of experience in public education. She led the Springfield Renaissance School in Massachusetts to national recognition, including the Magnet School of the Year Award and a 100% college acceptance rate for graduates. Now, in Hartford, she supports a cohort of 10 school principals and helps build equitable, student-centered systems. She is a 2021 Northeastern Ed.D. graduate and a speaker with the Nellie Mae Foundation’s Speakers Bureau.

She shares powerful lessons from moments of uncertainty and courage—facing hard conversations, owning her authenticity, and learning to pause, reflect, and lead with purpose. Whether you’re new to leadership or coaching others through it, this conversation is rich with tools for navigating complexity while staying anchored in mission.

In This Episode, we discuss:

• The myth (and danger) of the “we’re a family” leadership culture
• What to do when budget cuts force you to make the hardest calls
• Why leaders should not resolve conflict over email
• Finding your true voice as a leader—especially when you feel like an imposter
• The quiet power of showing up as your full self, and how student voice shaped her leadership

“We are a group of human beings who are on this journey and you are linked together with the same cause… And I think it’s what unites.”

Relevant Links:

Springfield Renaissance School

Nellie Mae Speakers Bureau

Hartford Public Schools

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Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell

Theme music: Ryan Raddatz

Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar

The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.