TJ Cotter began his career in education as a teacher at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center in the Houston Independent School District where he taught Social Studies and Reading. He has since served as an Instructional Specialist and Dean of Students at Dowling Middle School (since re-named Audrey H. Lawson MS).  He then transitioned to Woodson PK-8 Leadership Academy as the Assistant Principal in which he was was involved in assisting with the turnaround of the campus; moving the campus from “improvement required” to meeting state accountability standards, specifically with the progressions of student growth and regression of performance gaps, to avoid major sanctions from the Texas Education Agency. He most recently served as the Assistant Principal at North Forest High School, moving the campus from Year 4 IR to meeting state accountability.

TJ earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Southern University and his Master of Education in Administration and Policy Studies from University of Houston. TJ is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. He is currently working on his Doctor of Education in Professional Leadership and Policy studies at the University of Houston where his research is focused on school turnaround and effective supports for turnaround leaders.