ABOUT USBuilt for the people doing the real work
Steadfast K12 was founded on a simple belief: that the people working inside school systems deserve a partner who takes their challenges as seriously as they do.
OUR STORYWhy Steadfast K12 exists
Public school districts face some of the most complex resource and organizational challenges of any institution, and they face them with limited time, limited staff, and enormous accountability to students and communities.
Steadfast K12 was founded to meet that need differently. Not as a firm that parachutes in with pre-packaged solutions, but as a genuine partner — one that rolls up its sleeves, learns the specifics of each district, and builds the kind of trust that makes hard work possible.
The name says it. We stay steady, we stay committed, and we stay focused on what matters most: the students at the center of it all.
FOUNDERJoseph Trawick-Smith
Joseph is the founder of Steadfast K12, bringing 15 years of experience working in K-12 finance with school districts and states nationally. He has a proven track record of driving organizational change efforts, demystifying complex issues, and advancing a student-centered approach to financial planning.
Before founding Steadfast K12, Joseph was a Partner at Education Resource Strategies, where he led large-scale consulting engagements and facilitated ERS’ national CFO Strategy Network. His work included state and school funding redesign, central office planning, school portfolio planning, structures for continuous improvement, and analysis of state funding policies.
In 2021 and 2022, Joseph took a hiatus from ERS to work as an advisor to the Finance team in Tulsa Public Schools. During this time he helped develop a multi-year resource strategy to support the district’s new 5-year strategic plan, facilitated Chief-level budget and staffing decisions, and helped pilot a new approach to central office budgeting.
He holds an MBA from Babson College and has published several works on K-12 finance and budgeting.