Bob Nardo is founding Executive Director of Libertas School of Memphis. Founded in 2015 as the first Montessori charter in Tennessee, Libertas transformed Tennessee's second-lowest achieving elementary school into one of its highest performing schools for at-risk students. Libertas was a 2022 national quarterfinalist for the Yass Prize. Bob spearheaded Arete Memphis Public Montessori Residency, the nation’s first urban teacher training offering nationally-accredited Montessori diploma with state teaching license; Arete is tripling the number and diversity of public Montessori educators with five partner schools across the Mid-South. Bob is an advocate for policy reform in Tennessee, leading campaigns and serving on state and local government committees, including the creation of Tennessee’s new student based funding model, revising school accountability, expanding early childhood education, and equitable public facilities for charters. He was 2021 Tennessee Charter School Administrator of the Year. Bob previously served as chief operating officer of the Tennessee Achievement School District, of KIPP Newark, and a similar role at the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago. Bob has taught band, choir, philosophy, and Latin. Bob earned a bachelor’s in government from American University, graduating summa cum laude, and a master’s in social sciences from the University of Chicago, earning the Johnson Prize for his thesis, “Charter School Effects on Chicago Public Schools.” He also holds a postgraduate diploma in character education from the University of Birmingham (UK). Bob, his wife Sara (a homeschool educator), and their six children live on a small homestead near Memphis.