Sapience Update

After nearly 9 years of building and growing Sapience Leadership, we have decided to bring this chapter to a close.

Sapience was founded with a clear purpose: to expand access and opportunity in education, particularly for students and institutions navigating complex structural and resource challenges. From the outset, our work centered on supporting leaders—those responsible for shaping the future of their schools, systems, and communities. We sought to take on that work from an inquiry stance and grow the community of leaders doing so.

Over the years, we are especially proud of the strategic planning partnerships we developed with urban Catholic high schools and public education leaders. Together, we worked to strengthen long-term sustainability and to support the leaders whose decisions will shape the trajectories of their institutions and the students they serve. That work—and the individuals behind it—remain deeply meaningful to us.

We are also incredibly grateful for the community of Sapience Consultants who led and contributed to our most significant client engagements. Their expertise, commitment, and leadership were central to the impact of our work. It has been a privilege to collaborate with such a talented group of professionals, all of whom continue to make meaningful contributions across the educational leadership landscape. We remain committed to maintaining and growing these relationships and to supporting their continued success.

Our journey was also profoundly shaped by our time within the Pennovation ecosystem. As part of the PCI Ventures UPSTART program, we benefited from an environment that challenged our thinking, expanded our network, and accelerated our ability to translate ideas into action. We are particularly grateful to Michael Poisel for his early leadership and belief in Sapience, and to Bhavana Mohanraj and Jamie L. Sweet for their continued support and commitment to fostering innovation through Pennovation’s programming.

This decision reflects a natural evolution in both the broader market and our own professional paths. As Sapience developed, shifting dynamics in education and organizational priorities required increasing focus and investment to fully realize its next stage of growth. At the same time, our respective roles have expanded in ways that make that level of commitment difficult to sustain. Dr. Michael Johanek has taken on the role of Distinguished Senior Fellow, NCREST at Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as Research Professor at Boston College's Lynch School. I continue to deepen my work in AI-driven innovation and leadership through my role as CMO of Dstillery, alongside my adjunct teaching at Temple University, where demand for asynchronous graduate coursework continues to grow.

Importantly, this is not a departure from the mission that brought Sapience to life. Our shared commitment to advancing access and opportunity in K–12 education—particularly in communities where resources are most needed—remains central to our work. We also continue to value and support the Penn GSE and Pennovation communities, and the extraordinary alumni network of Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, now entering its 25th year.

Sapience Leadership may be closing, but the ideas, relationships, and purpose behind it will continue to shape what we do next.

With gratitude,

Patti Boyle

CEO, Sapience Leadership