Meredith Liu Obituary-Death News; Meredith Liu, Beloved Co-Founder of Primary School Passed Away
Meredith Liu, a trailblazing education reformer and co‑founding leader of The Primary School, passed away in April 2023.
Her unexpected death on that date shook colleagues, students, and the broader educational community, leaving a profound void where her visionary spirit once flourished.
Meredith Liu was born in the early 1980s and grew up in Washington, D.C., proud of her public-school roots. She graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College in 2004 and went on to earn her MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
Her early career at Bain & Company honed her analytical skills and financial acumen, which she later brought to significant roles in education—serving as CFO at Match Education and helping revitalize struggling schools at Codman Academy and Mass Insight Education.
Meredith was recruited by Priscilla Chan to co-found The Primary School in East Palo Alto as part of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. As its founding president, she spearheaded an ambitious blended primary-care and primary-education model focused on holistic child development.
Under her leadership, the school integrated healthcare, counseling, and social support into standard primary education—a model many described as groundbreaking.
Staff and families at The Primary School remember Meredith as “a brilliant innovator, an inspiring champion of children and families…fiercely passionate… rooted in her deep belief in justice and equity”.
In a heartfelt LinkedIn tribute, the school wrote, “Meredith refused to accept that our typical way of doing school is the best we can do… The Primary School is a community filled with love, care, and hope because she was a part of it”.
Her Dartmouth alumni obituary echoed this sentiment, highlighting her compassion, intellectual curiosity, quick wit, generosity of spirit, and lighthearted joy—attributes that defined both her personal and professional life.
Colleagues and friends described her as tireless in advocating for a more equitable system of care for children, and as someone who would “break through walls for the people she loved”.
Following her passing, The Primary School created the Spark Innovation Grant fund in her memory to empower teachers and staff to develop creative new approaches to supporting children’s learning and healthy development.
This annual grant ensures her legacy will continue through the sparks of imagination she inspired. Meredith is survived by her family and countless colleagues, students, and community members who were touched by her vision.
Though the exact cause of her death is not publicly detailed, her loss remains deeply mourned—especially among those who believed in her mission and followed her lead.
Her death underscores the fragility of pioneering efforts. Without her leadership, The Primary School faced mounting challenges today, its closure is a cautionary tale about the need for sustainable support in educational innovation.
Still, Meredith’s legacy lives on in the teachers who benefit from memorial grants, in the students who experienced a deeply caring learning environment, and in the ongoing conversations about equitable, integrated education.
In memoriam, those who wish to honor Meredith Liu are encouraged to support The Primary School’s Spark Innovation Grants or to advocate locally for equitable, whole-child approaches to education.
Her life reminds us that educational transformation depends not just on new ideas, but on the unwavering dedication of leaders who refuse to accept the status quo.
