Dr. Matthew A. Flippen | Founder and President, Gracelyn University | Host, Transformational Educators | Author, Lead With Trust (Gracelyn University Press, October 2026)
Dr. Matthew A. Flippen has spent two years asking school leaders one question: what actually changed your campus. He is Founder and President of Gracelyn University, host of Transformational Educators, and author of Lead With Trust (Gracelyn University Press, October 2026), profiling eight leaders who transformed struggling schools.
Direct scheduling: media@gracelyn.edu. Reciprocal guest exchange welcome. Happy to feature your show's guests on Transformational Educators.
Eight school leaders. Eight schools they turned around: Dr. Darrell Floyd, Dr. Karen Engle, Dr. Ramiro Nava, Dr. Darryl Henson, Rose Pearson, Jim Vasquez, Dr. Al Johnson, and Dr. Paula Patterson.
Read the book page →Real stories of transformational leaders. Four episodes featured below.
Dr. Karen Engle · Superintendent, Clear Creek ISD
Why every student at Clearview was considered "at-risk"
Jim Vasquez · Superintendent, Socorro ISD
Why Horizon Heights Elementary was stuck in a cycle of leadership turnover
Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket · Principal, Waterloo Elementary
The power of humility and humor in school leadership
Dr. Rick Surrency · 2023 National Superintendent of the Year
Why student engagement is a key measure of instructional quality
"Dr. Matthew Flippen has produced a compelling and practical reminder that trusted leadership is the foundation upon which lasting school improvement is built."
Dr. Toby A. Travis · author, TrustED®
"Lead With Trust makes a simple but powerful case: before you can change a school, you have to earn the trust of the people in it."
Linda Kardamis · Founder, Teach 4 The Heart
"Dr. Flippen is a transformational leader, and his book, Lead With Trust, is powerful because it brings together real life examples with helpful tools that can be applied right away."
Dr. Bryan McCabe · President, Bakke Graduate University
"Lead With Trust provides a clarion call for leaders to hone in on what really matters: building trust with those they wish to lead."
Danny Steele · Speaker, Author, and Leadership Coach
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Founder and President of Gracelyn University, Dr. Flippen has spent two years asking school leaders across the country the same question: what actually changed your campus? The answer, almost without exception, was never a program. It was a person, and the trust they built before anything else. He hosts the Transformational Educators podcast and is the author of Win With Your Talent Pipeline and Lead With Trust (Gracelyn University Press, October 2026).
