Based in Austin, Texas, we were founded in 2017 by Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B, with $100 million in seed funding. Charles named the Center after his mother, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth, a former schoolteacher and pioneering advocate for social justice.

The choice to focus on leadership is strategic. Great leadership is critical to the success of any organization, including public schools. In education, leaders impact every aspect of the system all the way down to student outcomes. Two decades of research backs this up.