Behind the Scenes

Founder / Executive Director

sgiven@thecroftschool.org

“They may not be household names like Elon Musk or Sheryl Sandberg, but throughout the country… education innovators are inspiring fellow educators and improving education for America’s students. These are innovators like Scott Given who has launched new public schools that are quadrupling students’ proficiency levels.” - U.S. Secretary of Education, October 2015

Scott has worked as an award-winning educator for nearly twenty years: as a teacher, principal, and nonprofit founder and leader. Most recently, Scott founded and led a nonprofit education organization that opened six highly-acclaimed schools, serving more than 3,000 students, throughout Massachusetts. The nonprofit was named the National Education Reform Organization of the year in 2012. Before this, Scott was the principal of a charter middle school in Boston. During the final year of Scott’s tenure at the school, its students were the top-achieving math and reading students among any public middle school in Massachusetts, at the time an unprecedented accomplishment for an urban public school in Massachusetts history. Scott started his education career as a high school history teacher and athletics coordinator. Before working in education, Scott served as a management consultant. Scott is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School. He completed the prestigious Broad Academy Fellowship in 2015-2016.

Scott resides with his wife Sarah, two sons (both Croft students), and their golden-doodle Henry (who makes an occasional appearance at Croft).

Chief Program Officer

B.A. Clark University, M.S. Simmons College
ewalsh-hagan@thecroftschool.org

Erin joined Croft in 2022. Erin is honored to be part of the collaborative, inclusive, and diverse Croft community. She believes strongly in Croft's commitment to ensuring all students are seen, challenged, loved and supported.

Before joining Croft, Erin co-led a national fellowship program where she coached leaders in designing, founding, and leading high-quality and equitable public schools in traditionally underrepresented communities. Prior to this, Erin coached and managed leaders at a highly-acclaimed non-profit organization focused on school turnaround. Before coaching leaders, she proudly served as the Head of School for a nationally recognized charter school. In the early years of her career, Erin taught students with diverse learning needs and spent time as reading specialist and instructional coach.

Outside of Croft, Erin loves spending time with her husband and two children, Aine and Aodhan. In her free time, you can find her reading, lifting weights, taking long walks, or at a soccer field!

Chief Operating Officer

B.A. George Washington University
M.S. Northeastern University
kmahoney@thecroftschool.org

Kate joined Croft in 2022. She values an educational experience where school is exciting, balanced, and has a strong sense of community. Croft is all of these things and more and she is grateful to be part of the team.

Before joining Croft Kate coached and managed school based operational leaders at a non-profit school turnaround organization in Massachusetts. Prior to this, Kate spent time in Baltimore, Maryland as the Regional Director of Operations for a nationally-recognized charter school network, where she coached operational leaders and streamlined operational functions across the organization. Prior to this, she served as Director of Operations for a high performing charter school in Boston where she was a founding team member and led the school through their expansion phase of growth. Kate began her career in education in Connecticut, on the founding teams of two charter schools.

Outside of Croft, Kate enjoys spending as much time as possible with her husband, daughter, and Yorkie. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, going on long walks/runs by the ocean, taking hot sculpt classes, and reading.

Director of Talent

B.S., University of Delaware
MSW, Boston College
jsilverman@thecroftschool.org 

Jaymie joined Croft in 2025. Jaymie is thrilled to join The Croft School community. She believes that the most impactful schools are driven by educators who feel seen, supported, and inspired—and that strong talent systems are essential to making that vision a reality. Passionate about unlocking potential in both educators and students, Jaymie is eager to collaborate with a team committed to creating equitable, joyful, and uplifting learning environments.

A Greater Boston native, Jaymie earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware before returning to Boston to complete her Master’s in Social Work at Boston College. She began her career in Boston Public Schools as a school social worker with City Connects, later designing and managing a postsecondary success program at a local nonprofit. Most recently, she served as Director of People & Culture, focused on building and sustaining a positive and productive work environment. Jaymie brings a diverse background in education, social work, and talent development, and is excited to contribute her experience to the Croft community.

Outside of school, she enjoys beach days, spending time with family and friends, reading, and cheering on all the Boston sports teams. She also loves staying active and can often be found at a workout class or taking long walks around Jamaica Pond.

Special Assistant to the Founder

B.S. in Finance, Farmer School of Business, Miami University (Ohio)
hforgo@thecroftschool.org

Hannah joined Croft in 2025. She is deeply committed to building trusting relationships and designing systems that make every interaction responsive, efficient, and people-focused. Hannah is relationships-driven and thrives on supporting Croft in family outreach, facility planning, operational coordination, and more. She deeply values Croft’s commitment to student-centered innovation, joyful learning, and inclusive community building.

Hannah is native to Greater Boston, earned her undergraduate degree in 2020 from Miami University in Ohio, then returned to Boston to begin her career. She worked as a project manager at a financial services firm for 5 years, leading corporate real estate initiatives and enhancing workplace experience across offices. With a passion for building trust and clarity in high-impact projects, she brings a unique blend of technical and communication skills to her work.

Outside of her professional life, Hannah enjoys skiing, beach days, strategic board games, traveling, and long walks around the city. She is excited to bring her energy and experience to Croft’s mission of creating equitable, empowering, and joyful school experiences.