Jody Cornish

Director   
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About Jody

As a director at Tyton Partners, Jody Cornish brings more than two decades of experience helping organizations align strategy, operations, and market realities to drive lasting impact. She advises clients across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, with a focus on youth and adult development, mental health, education, and economic mobility. Her work is grounded in a consistent commitment to equity-driven leadership and tri-sector innovation.

Before joining Tyton Partners, Jody served in a series of fractional CEO and COO roles, helping high-potential social enterprises refine their growth strategies and strengthen operational effectiveness. Previously, she held senior leadership positions as Senior Vice President of Strategic Alignment and Business Innovation at City Year and as Managing Partner at New Profit, where she co-led the Reimagine Learning K-12 education initiative and advised numerous organizations on growth strategy, impact investing, and systems change.

Earlier in her career, Jody honed her expertise in consulting, financial planning, revenue generation, and organizational development through roles at Monitor Group, Trium Group, Lodestar International, D. E. Shaw, and through independent advisory work. She has worked internationally in more than 40 countries, including in fragile and emerging economies, and is fluent in English, Spanish, Russian, Dutch and Portuguese.

Recent projects include:

  • Advised on growth strategy and go-to-market refinement for a digital career exploration platform serving K–12 districts.

  • Supported strategic planning and partnership assessment for expanding digital curriculum offerings in secondary education.

  • Leading a market positioning and distribution strategy engagement to strengthen sustainability and clarify customer ownership.

  • Advising on product and pricing strategy to support equitable access and long-term viability in the open educational resources market.

  • Facilitating a cross-sector strategy process to design and launch a statewide clinical preceptorship and practicum expansion model to address healthcare workforce gaps.

  • Jody’s leadership extends to board service with Campus Without Walls, YouthBuild USA, Next Generation Learning Challenges, and Big Picture Learning.

A first-generation college graduate raised in rural Pennsylvania, she holds a B.A. in politics, economics, and Russian Studies from the University of Rochester and an M.A. in social psychology from Duke University, with further training in adult development and negotiations at Harvard University. She is a certified ICF leadership coach. Passionate about bridging systems to create lasting pathways of opportunity, Jody continues to help organizations deliver transformative solutions for children, youth, and communities.

 

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

  • Member, ASU+GSV Summit Network – connecting innovation leaders across education, technology, and social impact

  • Member, Association for Strategic Planning – committed to excellence in strategy development and execution

  • Member, BoardSource – supporting strong nonprofit governance and executive leadership

  • Member, Collective Impact Forum – engaging in cross-sector collaboration to address complex social challenges

  • Member, Grantmakers for Education – advancing philanthropic impact across the education sector

  • Member, Independent Sector – promoting a strong and united nonprofit and philanthropic community

  • Member, International Venture Philanthropy Network (IVPN) – advancing global philanthropic capital and impact investing strategies to drive systemic social change

  • Member, New England Impact Investing Initiative – supporting the growth of impact capital aligned to social equity and regional resilience

  • Alumna, Newfield Network – advancing transformational leadership through ontological coaching and personal mastery

  • Member, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – supporting inclusive, strategic, and mission-aligned people practices

  • Member, Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) – fostering systems thinking and organizational learning for adaptive leadership

 

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Shifting a system: The Reimagine Learning network and how to tackle persistent problems. Deloitte Whitepaper summarizing the approach and impact of the cross-sector Reimagine Learning initiative. 2018.

  • Let Every Light Shine – speaker for Reimagine Learning, the featured social impact cause for New York Fashion Week. 2015.

  • Co-author, Learning to Change the World: The Social Impact of One Laptop per Child. With Charles Kane, Walter Bender and Neal Donahue. St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2012.

  • Speaker, Social Impact. Innovation Olympics, Hult International School of Business, 2012.

  • Economic development through a competitive advantage lens. Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce. 2011.

  • Feed the Future: Global Food Security Research and Strategic Recommendations for West Africa. 2011.

 

Education

  • B.A. University of Rochester

  • M.A. Duke University

  • Certified Executive Coach

 

Interests and Passion Projects

  • Languages and travel – Currently deepening fluency in Portuguese and French; always planning the next cultural adventure

  • Home renovation convert – Once reluctantly involved, now fully immersed in the joys (and frustrations) of plumbing, carpentry, and masonry

  • Gardening enthusiast – Passionate about plants and flowers; creating a new pollinator garden and sensory garden this year

  • Drawn to water – A lifelong lover of swimming, kayaking, sailing, and even the occasional attempt at surfing

  • New England adventurer – Camping and biking weekly with friends and family to soak in the region’s beauty

  • Joyfully parenting – Most inspired by time spent with her curious, funny son and their two very silly doodle pups

 

Why Clients Love Working with Jody

“Facilitating a multi-stakeholder conversation or guiding an executive team through hard decisions, Jody is admired for her calm, thoughtful, and articulate communication. She brings both clarity and emotional intelligence to every engagement”