In late June, Headmaster, Dania Vazquez was named a Barr Fellow for 2017. A Barr Fellowship is awarded to exceptional leaders, celebrating and investing in them and their organizations, and cultivating a network of civic leaders committed to Greater Boston. Selected for their significant leadership and contributions at their organizations and across our community, Barr Fellows are effective visionaries who motivate others, drive change and produce results.
Dania Vazquez is the founding Headmaster of the Margarita Muñiz Academy, an Innovation School, dedicated to preparing students for college and beyond in a dual language model. The Muñiz Academy is the only dual language public school in the New England Region and is named in honor of Margarita Muñiz, herself a member of the Barr Fellows Class of 2007.
Before coming to the Muñiz Academy, Dania was Associate Executive Director at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) in Boston from 2001 to 2011. Focused on leadership development, school governance and whole school transformation. Dania has diverse experiences serving grades K to 12 as a bilingual special education teacher, staff developer, facilitator and principal of small schools primarily in New York City for over 21 years prior to coming to Boston.
Dania is also a watercolor artist, showing her work in a variety of venues in New England including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, North River Arts Society and the Jolgorio Navideño de Massachusetts. Muniz Academy brings together both her passion for teaching and the arts.
She has an M.S. in Bilingual Special Education from Bank Street College and an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University, focused on organizational development and school leadership. She is the recipient of the Smallheiser Award, United Federation of Teachers in 1996 and recognized by Kappa Delta Pi, Teachers College, Columbia University in 2001. More recently, she is the recipient of El Planeta’s Powermeter100 Most Influential People for Latinos for 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2015, Dania received the Bank Street College Alumni Association Award for her outstanding accomplishments in the field of education.
On December 9, 2022 Dr. Vazquez will be the recipient of the 2022 Hyde Square Task Force Inspiring Leader Award. The award will be presented at HSTF's Annual Making Change Happen Breakfast, which will take place in person.
