Derek Brody (he/him) is an Advisor and the Finance Manager at Trepwise, where he leverages his five years of experience at the firm to support a variety of client and internal projects.
He brings significant experience in organizational planning, human-centered design, facilitation, and financial management to the work and is passionate about promoting equitable, community-centered outcomes. Derek’s client portfolio includes significant projects in education, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
Prior to joining Trepwise, Derek was a founding teacher and administrator in Memphis, Tennessee, where he developed a deep passion for educational equity and for building more equitable systems and processes. In his role, Derek crafted data architecture to best support students and maintained close relationships with students and their families. He also worked closely with various local partners to provide community support during the COVID-19 pandemic, including his management of a community food drive that delivered necessary food and cleaning supplies to families in need. He partnered with NBA Math Hoops to bring fun and engaging math programming to students, leading to one student qualifying for the NBA Math Hoops National Championship. Derek has enjoyed working in an operational capacity at a small, scaling organization and bringing creative solutions to complex problems.
Derek holds a BA in Political Science and History from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. He pursued his passion for educational equity through joining Teach for America, a national organization working to develop leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence. He is also a graduate of the Teach For America Greater New Orleans Policy Fellowship, where he worked on policy proposals to advance educational equity across the state of Louisiana. Derek continues to blend his passions for equity, creative problem solving, and systems thinking within his career at Trepwise.
Derek lives in the Fairgrounds neighborhood of New Orleans. When he’s not working at Trepwise, he enjoys exploring the city on his bike, doing pottery, and listening to live music.
