John E. Critelli Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. John E. Critelli Jr. serves as the Program Director for the PROPEL University–District Partnership Program between Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Broward County Public Schools, where he leads the design and implementation of a high-impact leadership preparation program rooted in real-world practice. His work is dedicated to preparing aspiring school leaders to serve effectively in Florida’s most complex and high-need educational settings.

Dr. Critelli specializes in cultivating and sustaining university–district partnerships that strengthen leadership pipelines and promote coherence between preparation programs and district priorities. He supports cohort-based professional learning, field-embedded coaching, and systems-level alignment with school improvement efforts. Under his leadership, the PROPEL program delivers rigorous, context-responsive training aligned to the evolving demands of instructional leadership.

Dr. Critelli is currently advancing a research and practice agenda focused on the responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in leadership preparation. His work explores how generative AI tools can support aspiring and current school leaders in tasks such as data analysis, communication, reflective practice, and instructional planning. While this work is in the developmental stage, it is shaping program design and informing ongoing research projects that seek to align AI-enhanced practices with real-world leadership challenges.

Since entering higher education in 2018, Dr. Critelli has contributed to multiple large-scale initiatives, including the Wallace Foundation’s University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). He is a regular presenter at national conferences such as the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). His scholarship centers on evidence-based approaches to principal preparation, instructional coaching, and the continuous improvement of leadership development systems—with a growing emphasis on innovation through AI.