Senior Leadership

Aaron Osborne – Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Finance

Aaron Osborne has spent the past 18 years in public education, the first six years of which were spent teaching Middle and High School Math with the last twelve in administration and finance. Aaron’s career spans more than 30 years across public, private, and non-profit management.

Prior to joining The Public Schools of Brookline, Aaron was the Director of Finance & Operations at Berlin-Boylston Regional Schools where he was recruited to rebuild the department following the departure of the entire finance office. Prior to that, Aaron worked as the Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations, and Human Resources at Hampden-Wilbraham Regional Schools where he established consistency around practices and established a collaborative budget process that aligned with strategic planning. While at Hampden-Wilbraham, Aaron also re-established the METCO program, allowing students from Springfield to attend Hampden-Wilbraham Schools. Aaron is an active member of  multiple state-wide professional organizations including MASPA, MAPPO, and MASBO where he has served as a mentor for multiple years.      

As Director of Administrative Services for the Housing Authorities of the City & County of Fresno, Aaron oversaw an annual operating budget of more than $100 Million and capital of nearly $4 Million, funded through a range of federal, state, local, and private sources. Shortly after arriving at the Housing Authorities, Aaron was asked to assume leadership of the Housing Choice Voucher program following the discovery of a $6 Million shortfall as well as the  departure of department leadership. Working with staff from both offices, they were able to reduce this shortfall to less than $1 Million in year one and eliminated it thereafter. Aaron also served as the agency’s liaison to the City of Fresno 10 Year Plan To End Chronic Homelessness and as a board member of Bank On Fresno, where he worked to reduce the number of unbanked individuals in the community by volunteering to teach financial literacy classes and provide individual counselling.

Aaron received his BA in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and later completed his Master of Business Administration at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Aaron also holds a graduate certificate in statistical analysis for market research from the University of Georgia as well as Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official designation.
 

Karen Shmukler, Ed.D., LMFT - Interim Deputy Superintendent for Student Services

Dr. Karen Shmukler has a diverse and multi-layered career with experience and expertise spanning pre-K-college in the educational and human services domain in highly diverse communities.

Karen was the Deputy Superintendent of Student Services in the Public Schools of Brookline where she worked for over a decade, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services in the Newton Public Schools and the Associate Head of School at Prospect Hill Academy. Karen was at the forefront of introducing wraparound and system of care principles in the areas of public education, mental health and child welfare in Massachusetts. She provides professional development in this area to IEP teams, special education administrators, school-based mental health personnel in developing and facilitating inter-disciplinary systems and coordinated care approaches with families and outside providers that wrap services and support around students with complex needs in special education, supporting students to remain in the most inclusive, least restrictive environments.

Karen consults at the state and national level bringing her deep expertise in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and building Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that provide and integrate culturally responsive social emotional and academic development. She has deep expertise in innovative special education program design and development, special education reviews, and building in-district programming to reduce unnecessary out of district placements. Karen has worked across districts and presented nationally on sustainable, systemic approaches to disrupt disproportionality in special and general education at the systems, school and individual educator level. Regardless of context, her work centers and braids issues of equity, inclusion, race, belonging and culture as she strives to support and build inclusive organizations that are culturally sustaining and healing-centered.

Karen received her Clinical Psychologist degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and her Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University, Florida. Karen currently lectures at Tufts University on child mental health in the educational context. She has taught English as a Second Language and literacy to children and adults from marginalized communities in South Africa and the USA.

Robin Benoit, Ph.D. – Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning

Dr. Robin Benoit brings more than 30 years of experience in public education, with a career spanning classroom teaching, school leadership, and district-level instructional leadership.

She has served in a variety of roles at both the school and district level, including Director of Instructional Design, PreK–12 STEM Coordinator, and Middle School Principal. In these positions, Robin has worked on curriculum and instructional improvement with a focus on strengthening Tier 1 instruction, aligning curriculum and assessment practices, and supporting professional learning. Her work has included guiding the adoption of instructional materials, curriculum review efforts, and instructional practice across schools.

Robin’s work emphasizes authentic and applied learning, inclusive instructional design, and systems that support educator growth and student success. Her leadership values collaboration and continuous improvement, with a clear focus on ensuring that all students experience engaging, rigorous, and high-quality learning opportunities.

Drawing on her experience as a practitioner and her commitment to lifelong learning, Robin earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Lesley University, where her research examined how superintendents lead through periods of social and political change. She has presented at the state and national level and remains closely connected to practice through mentoring and collaboration with educators and leaders. This work continues to inform her leadership and her commitment to building collective capacity to support meaningful learning for all students.