Community. Respect. Stewardship. Dignity. The hallmarks of Darius Husain’s career as executive director of the Face to Face Academy in St. Paul read like a recipe for Benedictine hospitality. 

Husain has spent more than 20 years leading the charter school, which gives teens in grades nine through 12 at risk of dropping out of school a chance to get their education back on track. Face to Face exposes students to educational opportunities traditional schools might not — for example, its award-winning Wilderness and Outdoor Program — with a 12-month calendar and 8:40 a.m. start. 

Husain’s quietly confident, humble, passionate and empathetic leadership has cultivated a safe, supportive culture that offers students different ways of learning and inspires them to show up, learn and ultimately graduate. His positive impact shines through in graduation rates and math, reading and science scores that are higher than state, district and local school averages.  

Face to Face has been lauded for its role in closing the achievement gap, and Husain’s contributions have earned him status as a valuable resource in Minnesota education.