Deborah S. Delisle is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring all students, particularly those who are traditionally underserved, graduate from high school well prepared for success in college, work, and citizenship.

Prior to her current position with All4Ed, Delisle served as executive director and CEO of ASCD, a professional community of more than 120,000 education professionals around the world. She also served as U.S. assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education from 2012 to 2015. During that time, she played a pivotal role in policy and management issues affecting prekindergarten, elementary and secondary education, and oversaw eighty-six programs with a portfolio of nearly $26 billion.

During Delisle’s more than forty years in education, she has served in a variety of roles at the local, state, and federal levels. Prior to her role at the U.S. Department of Education, Delisle was a senior fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) where she worked to enhance educator performance systems and create transformative school and district cultures. She also served as Ohio’s thirty-fifth state superintendent of public instruction and was the superintendent of the Cleveland Heights–University Heights (Ohio) City School District. In July 2014 she was identified by the National Journal as one of five women in America who influence and shape national education policy.