Sean Michael Hardy, MSW, is a campaign strategist, political organizer, and advocate for education reform with a focus on advancing equity for underserved communities. As the Director of National Strategic Growth & Expansion at Innovate Public Schools, a leading national education reform nonprofit, Sean has led impactful initiatives that directly meet the needs of students and families. Among his accomplishments is spearheading a post-pandemic high-dosage, high-quality tutoring program, which secured a $2 million investment from the City of San Jose. He is also the Founding Organizer of the Mary L. Booker Leadership Academy in San Francisco, CA, an institution grounded in community-based leadership.
In the AI and digital literacy ecosystem, Sean is a trailblazer, particularly for students with special needs. He played a pivotal role in developing the A-IEP, a generative AI platform designed to make IEPs/504 plans more accessible and understandable for non-native English speakers and low-literacy families. His cross-sector coalition work with Beth Simone Noveck, Chief Innovation Officer for the State of New Jersey, and Northeastern University ensures that this AI initiative is both groundbreaking and ethically responsible, helping to bridge the digital divide for underserved students. Sean also secured significant seed funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for AI capacity-building, ensuring that historically overlooked communities can leverage emerging technologies as pathways to economic mobility and lifelong success.
Sean is a Founding Member of the Future in Color Institute, a transformative movement and coalition focused on driving economic mobility and creating opportunities for Black communities to thrive. The initiative unites thought leaders, policymakers, and innovators to leverage generative AI and other advanced technologies to build inclusive economic ecosystems. Through landmark projects like the Global Black GDP(X) Report and the Catapult Residency, Future in Color is laying the groundwork for policy recommendations and capital investments, with a vision for a thriving, human-centered global economy by 2053.
In addition to his work in education and AI, Sean’s leadership extends to his time at Dream.org, where he developed pipelines for Black communities to gain entry into the tech sector. Through this initiative, the team successfully placed over 100 individuals from nontraditional tech backgrounds into tech sector jobs and launched Black Future Weekend™, helping to diversify the industry and create sustainable career paths
As a social entrepreneur and grassroots movement builder, Sean’s expertise, supported by his MSW, has been instrumental in shaping equitable access to both education and emerging technologies for marginalized groups, continuing to influence the future of public policy and advocacy.