Joshua Barnett

Dr. Joshua Barnett serves as CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), a national nonprofit organization that has trained and supported more than 35,000 teacher leaders over twenty-five years with proven results. Annually, NIET serves more than 350,000 educators across more than 1,000 districts, impacting 3.5 million students nationwide. He leads a team of experts focused on building sustainable systems that support effective teaching in every classroom, grounded in NIET’s research-based TAP System.

NIET’s work has been recognized in national media outlets as a driver of the “southern surge” of growth in reading and math enabling states like Louisiana to climb in national rankings. National and state level education policies increasingly reflect the effective practices envisioned and implemented by NIET including investing in teacher leadership roles, strengthening systems for educator observation and feedback, and providing performance-based compensation. With more than 50 scholarly studies declaring NIET’s impact, their efforts to increase educator retention and student achievement are highlighted with a remarkable $14 to $1 return on investment for communities.  

Josh earned his PhD at the University of Arkansas in Education Policy, where he was an inaugural Walton Fellow. Before joining NIET, he served as a visiting professor at Massey University and as an assistant professor at Arizona State University. He is the author of numerous publications, including the bestselling book Unleashing Teacher Leadership: A Toolkit for Ensuring Effective Instruction in Every Classroom. He is driven by a belief that teachers are the most powerful lever for change in education. He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife and four children.