MaryEllen Elia

MaryEllen has nearly five decades of experience as an educator. She served as the first female New York State Commissioner of Education and as president of the University of the State of New York (USNY). In this capacity, she oversaw the work of more than 700 school districts with 3.2 million students; 7,000 libraries; 900 museums; and more than 50 professions encompassing nearly 900,000 licensees. Previously, she served as superintendent of schools in Hillsborough County, Florida, for 10 years, where she successfully implemented higher learning standards, partnered with teachers to develop a comprehensive evaluation system, and earned national recognition for gains in student achievement. In 2015, she was named Florida’s Superintendent of the Year, received the AASA Women in School Leadership Award from the School Superintendents Association, and was one of four finalists for the National Superintendent of the Year award. Most recently, she was a Senior Fellow at ICLE.