Aquabah Gonney

Aquabah Gonney-Buckner has dedicated her 18-year career to teaching and leading in urban schools. As a former turn around school principal in Chicago Public Schools, Aquabah transformed her school from Level 2 (Intense Support) to Level 1 (good standing) by emphasizing social and emotional learning, personalized learning, and culturally responsive practices. Her work as a principal has been featured in the book How Schools Work written by Arne Duncan, Former U.S. Secretary of Education and the Chicago Public Education Fund’s Principal Response to the Pandemic Report.

After 6 years of coaching principals, Aquabah founded Lead With Leaders LLC in 2023 to provide support to principals and district leaders from former and current leaders, to help navigate the challenges of leadership through Coaching, Consulting, and Professional Development. She has had the privilege of working with principals and school districts across the country to support school leadership and transform outcomes for students.