As a child, April Willis dreamed of becoming the U.S. secretary of education.
Today, the proud Longhorn combines her dual passions for teaching and leadership as an accomplished entrepreneur.
Willis earned a bachelor’s degree in Applied Learning and Development and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She attended the University on a full-ride scholarship from The Terry Foundation in Houston and served on its board of directors for several years.
A resident of Southlake, Texas, Willis is currently an educational consultant, author and professional speaker.
Previously, Willis spent five years as an educator at the UT Charter School. Nine years ago, she founded April Willis Consulting, a full-service national consulting firm that supports nonprofits, start-ups, small businesses and other organizations.
Named one of the Top 15 Female Business Coaches in America by Women’s Journal, Willis later earned her second master’s degree in Educational Administration and doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas as well as a Master of Business Administration from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.
For the second consecutive year, Willis was recently named to the Texas Exes Longhorn 100, which recognizes the world’s fastest-growing Longhorn-owned businesses.
We recently spoke to Willis to learn more.
When you first started out, what did you envision for your future career?
Since middle school, I wanted to become the U.S. secretary of education. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to teach but I also wanted to lead. I remember wondering who led the principals and superintendents, and who ultimately shaped education across the country.
While I valued my time as a teacher at UT Charter School, I also understood that lasting change often happens at the leadership level. I realized I could make an even greater impact by expanding my reach beyond a single classroom, campus and district.
How did you pursue your dream of working for the government?
One of the early pathways to gaining the knowledge and experience to serve in a presidential administration was becoming a White House Fellow, a prestigious leadership and public service program. I advanced to the top 100 candidates for the 2019-20 fellowship.
During the interviews, I thought I’d crushed it. I received a lot of positive feedback and believed I was on track to achieve my goal. When I wasn’t selected, it was one of those moments where you think that all of your plans are falling apart.
However, if I had become a White House Fellow, I wouldn’t have been able to launch a business or generate income from other sources. Not being selected opened the door to the career that I’ve built today—and that’s when my business really took off.
Looking back, it all worked out for the best. At the time, I was serving as director of business operations at Montessori For All in Austin. That turned out to be my last full-time position before I launched my consulting firm in 2018. I jumped in headfirst but it took more than a year to gain traction.
In 2020, I committed to the business full time. I realized that if I were in the corporate world with a doctorate, an MBA and two master’s degrees, I could earn significantly more than I did working in education.
Speaking of which, what motivated you to earn those four degrees, and how did they impact your path to entrepreneurship?
I always knew I was going to earn a doctorate since it was something my parents expected of me. I wanted to use it to obtain my superintendent and principal certifications simultaneously.
During my final semester, I discovered I was just two courses away from completing a second master’s degree, so I decided to finish it. After that, I immediately pursued an MBA so I could apply my education background to the business world.
Each degree helped prepare me for the work I do today. They also gave me additional credibility as I built my consulting firm and established myself in a highly competitive marketplace.
How did your experience at the College of Education prepare you to become a successful entrepreneur?
The presentation and public speaking skills I developed at the college have been invaluable throughout my career. Presenting projects, research and lessons to my cohort taught me how to understand other perspectives. While our presentations were mostly intended for teaching in the classroom, I quickly learned that those same principles applied to adults. The support I received from my peers gave me opportunities to practice adult learning strategies that I use with clients and businesses.
From my cohort presentations, I determined what was effective to keep the audience’s attention, which allowed me to develop the skills and strategies I needed most. We learned to promote independent learning and multiple intelligences for processing information. These tools definitely helped me advance in the education world. In class, I was able to develop my teaching approach with proven research strategies. This eventually helped me attain a director role at Montessori For All.
You began your career at UT Charter School, where you taught and served as a testing coordinator. What was that experience like?
I taught kindergarten through third grade at the SafePlace campus (now SAFE) through the UT Charter School, serving children and families experiencing domestic violence. The students lived there with their mothers anywhere from 24 hours to six weeks at a time. Some children were learning to write their names for the first time, while others needed help preparing for standardized tests.
It was a tremendous responsibility for a young, first-year teacher, but I loved it. The work was incredibly rewarding. Although my classroom experience may not seem as broad as that of other educators in traditional school districts, it was extremely in-depth. I was meeting students where they were during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. I felt like I truly thrived in that environment.
As much as I loved what I was doing, I realized I could make an even greater impact by supporting more organizations—from education to nonprofits—at the same time. In the classroom I was directly serving around 30 kids each year. Now through my consulting work, I’m able to create programs that ultimately reach hundreds or even thousands of children a year.
Tell me about the range of clients you serve through April Willis Consulting.
It all started with education. Austin Kids Can, an organization that provides after-school programming for economically disadvantaged students, was our very first client. We developed the program’s curriculum, provided educator staffing and supported nearly all of its behind-the-scenes operations. It’s a space where students can learn subjects like computer science while building social-emotional skills at the same time.
Since then, we’ve partnered with a variety of educational organizations including the National Virtual Teacher Association, which supports virtual teaching for K-12 and higher education. Another is Proximity Learning, a for-profit company that partners with school districts to provide certified virtual teachers. We’ve also developed courses for organizations such as the National Black Empowerment Council.
As our reputation has grown through word-of-mouth referrals, we’ve expanded well beyond education consulting. Today, we also work with clients in industries including legal services and real estate, providing support in areas such as human resources, project management and public relations.
While I don’t know exactly what the future holds for the business, I’m incredibly pleased with the direction we’re headed.
You created the National Nonprofit Collaborative to support smaller or less established nonprofits through a subscription-based service. What challenges does it address?
We kept meeting emerging nonprofits with incredible missions but limited resources. Their leaders have the passion and vision to make a big difference, but they often needed support on the business side to get their organizations off the ground.
That’s why we created the National Nonprofit Collaborative. Rather than simply doing the work for them, we teach our clients how to do it themselves. We essentially operate as an extension of their team by identifying what needs to be done, providing the tools and knowledge they need to succeed long after our work ends.
What was your reaction to the Texas Exes again naming your firm to the Longhorn 100?
Last year, I was incredibly honored to be named to the Longhorn 100. I reapplied this year to continue building on that momentum.
This means more to me than other awards I’ve received because it’s based on measurable results—businesses are ranked objectively based on growth and profitability—as opposed to subjective opinions. It’s quantifiable.
Receiving a full-ride scholarship to UT Austin helped make your education possible. How did that experience inspire you to create The Willis Scholarship?
My husband and I wanted to invest in students who demonstrated the confidence, integrity and potential to make a meaningful difference in the world. Now in its ninth year, the scholarship is available to eligible high school seniors in 15 school districts across Central and North Texas.
One of the biggest inspirations came from something I heard early in my career: I was told in an interview that I was overeducated and underexperienced. That comment stuck with me so I wrote a book, naming it “Overeducated & Under Experienced: Navigating a Saturated Workforce.” Today, it serves as the foundation of the scholarship.
We wanted to remove as many barriers to applying for the scholarship as possible. Each participating district receives free book copies, and eligible students complete the exercises as their application. We don’t ask about family income, ethnicity or any other demographic criteria. We simply want to know that students are graduating, plan to continue their education, and submitting their own original work.
Over the past few years, we’ve expanded the program to award scholarships to both first- and second-place recipients. Our scholarship winners have gone on to attend universities including UT Austin, the University of North Texas, the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M University, Stanford University, Penn State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Receiving a full-ride scholarship to attend UT changed my life, and I feel a responsibility to give back. While I’m not yet in a position to fund full scholarships, my goal is to help more students every year and continue expanding the program’s impact.
That’s a wonderful outlook. After a decade of running your own business, what continues to motivate you?
I’m incredibly proud of the tangible difference we’re making for startups, nonprofits and professionals across the country. Every day, we have the chance to help people pursue their dreams and create lasting change in their communities. Seeing our clients succeed is rewarding in a way I never could have imagined, and there’s nothing more gratifying than earning trust and referrals. Leading my own company has shown me that there are no limits to what I can accomplish. Each new challenge is an opportunity to make an even greater impact—and that’s what keeps me motivated.
