Co-Founder and Managing Partner,
Greenhouse E3

James Willcox is co-founder and the Managing Partner of Greenhouse E3. He serves as an executive coach and advisor to a diverse set of charter school leaders across the country. He also serves as a senior advisor to Strategic Growth Partners where he previously served as co-founder and CEO from 2016-2020. Prior to founding SGP, James was the CEO of Aspire Public Schools from 2009-2015. During his tenure, Aspire grew from 17 schools serving just under 6,000 students to 39 schools serving over 15,000 students, with annual revenues of $215M. Under his leadership, Aspire was the highest performing, high-poverty large school system in California. Aspire was also cited as one of the world’s fastest improving school systems by McKinsey & Co. James is a founding Board member of Schoolzilla and Alder Graduate School of Education, two equity centered organizations that he spun out of Aspire during his tenure as CEO. Earlier in his career, James was the founding COO of Education for Change, a Principal at NewSchools Venture Fund, a consultant at The Bridgespan Group, and a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MEd and MBA from Stanford University.