Director of Product Development, Attendance Works
Lorri J. Hobson brings more than 30 years of leadership in youth advocacy, education reform, and systems change to her role as Director of Product Development at Attendance Works. She leads the design of national professional learning, coaching, and leadership development to help district and state education leaders reduce chronic absence and build attendance systems that expand opportunities for all students.
Lorri established and leads the Professional Leadership Attendance Network (PLAN), a national learning network that equips district leaders with the knowledge, tools and strategies to drive sustainable, systemic attendance improvement. Through expert led sessions, collaborative learning, actionable planning and personalized coaching, PLAN builds the capacity of education leaders to embed effective, multi-tiered attendance practices across their systems.
Prior to joining Attendance Works, Lorri served as Director of ADM/Attendance for Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), where she led transformational efforts to strengthen districtwide attendance systems and improve student outcomes in one of the nation’s most underserved school districts.
Under her leadership, CMSD launched the district’s first citywide attendance campaign, “Get 2 School, You Can Make It!”, which reduced chronic absence from over 50% to 30% in its first year and became a nationally recognized model for community-driven attendance campaigns. Lorri built cross-sector partnerships with Juvenile Court, Cleveland Police, Department of Children and Family Services, and civic leaders to address systemic barriers to attendance and increase family engagement.
Lorri also played a pivotal role in shaping statewide policy, leading advocacy that resulted in the passage of Ohio House Bill 410, which decriminalized truancy and established student centered attendance intervention protocols across all Ohio school districts. Additionally, she designed and implemented data systems and mediation programs that strengthened accountability and reduced educational neglect referrals by 30% over three years.
Lorri was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarianism by the Global International Alliance in recognition of her leadership in decriminalizing truancy and advancing opportunities for students across Ohio. She continues to work in partnership with education leaders, communities, and families to advance attendance practices that support every student’s opportunity to learn and thrive.