42 – Teachers Deserve It: How Rae Hughart is Reimagining K-12 Consulting

👉 Feeling called to make a bigger impact in education? If you're curious about building aligned, paid work beyond your current role, you can book a clarity call with us here: [Book a Time] Some people talk about innovation in education. Rae Hughart lives it. In this episode of Unleash YES, we sit down with Rae Hughart—former middle school math teacher, education leader, and founder of Teachers Deserve It—to unpack what it really looks like to build a learning-based consulting business that respects teachers and creates systems-level change. Rae shares how her journey evolved from the classroom, through leadership at Teach Better, to launching a consulting model that challenges traditional PD as we know it. Rather than one-off workshops or surface-level inspiration, Teachers Deserve It is grounded in mastery-based learning, human-centered design, and deep co-creation with schools and districts. In this conversation, you'll hear: How Rae knew her impact was meant to extend beyond her own classroom What she learned about scaling a learning-based business inside an existing organization Why she launched Teachers Deserve It—and what problem she was determined to solve How co-creation, alignment, and integration shape her consulting model The identity shifts required to move from teacher → leader → founder How Rae now defines success—and what she actively protects If you've ever felt called to make a bigger impact in education without burnout or permission-seeking, this episode will meet you right where you are. 🎧 Listen, reflect, and keep your notebook close. Connect with Tom & Nat: >> Follow Tom on Linkedin >> Follow Nat on Linkedin >> Follow @unleashyes on Instagram >> email [email protected] >> Book a call.