Merrill Vargo

Merrill Vargo is the former CEO and founder of Pivot Learning Partners (now UnboundEd), a nonprofit school reform organization focused on developing education leaders and building sustainable education organizations. Under her leadership, Pivot Learning expanded to support over 60 school districts, impacting more than 2 million students. She previously served as executive director of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC), where she led the development of the “Cycle of Inquiry” model for school improvement. She was previously director of regional programs and special projects at the California Department of Education, overseeing key school reform efforts, including charter school policy and the School Improvement Program. She began her career as an English teacher and now works as an independent consultant supporting nonprofit and public education leaders. Vargo earned her BA and PhD in English literature from Cornell University.

updated 2025