San Francisco, CA — July 22, 2016 — Tacy Ashby, E.d., Senior Vice President of Strategic Educational Alliances at Grand Canyon University, has been elected Chair of the WestEd Board of Directors. Ashby, who has been a member of the Board for 13 years, begins her one-year leadership position Friday, July 22.

During her 32-year career in education, Ashby has served in a variety of roles, including classroom teacher, principal, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, superintendent of a Phoenix-area unified school district, and Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Arizona Department of Education.

Ashby has also consulted for the Arizona Department of Education, and served as faculty associate at Arizona State University and adjunct professor at Grand Canyon University, teaching master- and doctoral-level classes.

In her role as Senior Vice President of Strategic Educational Alliances at Grand Canyon University, Ashby works with the university’s colleges and divisions to extend assistance, support, and benefits to school districts, K-12 schools, education associations, and agencies. She has coached and mentored superintendents through an Arizona Department of Education program that she helped to establish while at the department. To sustain this initiative, Ashby’s team has developed a New Superintendents Collaborative Network to assist and support new Arizona district superintendents throughout their first year.

WestEd’s Board of Directors is made up of leaders from public and private education, business, and human services communities. Board members take an active role in agency leadership and strategic planning.

“Tacy has been an exceptional WestEd Board member, serving our agency for over a decade,” says Glen Harvey, WestEd CEO. “She has been voted by her colleagues to multiple leadership positions over the years, so it is fitting that she’s been called upon to lead the Board. We are excited about the year ahead, and we look forward to working in partnership with this distinguished educator.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing WestEd grow and become even more effective in carrying out its mission of promoting excellence, achieving equity, and improving learning for children, youth, and adults,” says Ashby. “I enjoy working with the committed professionals who make up WestEd’s Board of Directors and look forward to my new role in our collective effort to guide and support the agency as it carries out this important mission.”

Ashby is taking the Board leadership reins from Harold Levine, Professor Emeritus and Founding Dean of the School of Education at the University of California at Davis, who served as chair for 2015-16.

In addition to her leadership position on the WestEd Board, Ashby serves on the following boards: The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence, Phoenix Seminary, and The Arizona Business and Education Coalition. She was also appointed to serve on the Phoenix Mayor’s Youth and Education Commission.

Ashby received a BA in elementary education, an MA in educational administration and certification, and an Ed in leadership and policy studies from Arizona State University.

About WestEd
WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency that works with education and other communities throughout the United States and abroad to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has more than a dozen offices nationwide, from Massachusetts, Vermont and Georgia, to Illinois, Arizona and California, with headquarters in San Francisco. More information about WestEd is available at WestEd.org.

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