Most recently as Rocketship Education’s Regional Director for the state of Tennessee Shaka was responsible for the planning, growth, and success of Rocketship’s network of high-quality, elementary charter schools in Nashville and Memphis. Rocketship now currently serves roughly 1,200 students across Nashville.
Shaka began his career in education as the Associate Director of Policy and Planning at the D.C.-based Center for Education Reform. He then led outreach efforts at the Institute for Justice, a constitutional law firm based in Arlington, VA. Prior to joining Rocketship, Shaka was the Director of External Affairs for LEAD Public Schools, a network of public charter schools founded in Nashville, TN.
He is an alumnus of Belmont University where he teaches American Government and Constitutional Law as an adjunct faculty member. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Wake Forest University School of Law where he sits on the Board of Advisors for the Journal of Law and Policy. Shaka is a co-founder of MoreMarrowDonors.org, a non-profit committed to providing scholarships to bone marrow donors who are matches for patients with various blood diseases. Shaka is the Vice Chair of the Tennessee State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Shaka has spoken on the TEDx stage and his writings and opinions have appeared in numerous media and scholarly outlets such as the ABA Journal, NBC’s “Rock Center”, and the Tennessean. Shaka and his wife Stephanie are members of Trinity Church in Nashville and are active in several Nashville non-profit organizations.