WASHINGTON (July 1, 2020) – The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is pleased to announce the appointment of long-serving board member Tomeka Hart to her new position as chair of DQC’s Board of Directors. Hart has served on DQC’s Board of Directors since February 2016 and has led DQC’s Board and Staff Development Committee for the last two years.
“Tomeka has served at nearly every level, from the classroom to the school board and state advisory committees to national organizations,” said John Bailey, outgoing chair of DQC’s Board of Directors. “Tomeka’s incredible breadth of experience in the education field, longstanding work to advance equity and improve student outcomes, and service on DQC’s Board of Directors make her the perfect person to lead DQC’s Board and provide critical guidance to DQC as it continues its work to ensure data is used to help students succeed during this unprecedented and unpredictable time.”
DQC welcomes Hart to her new role on the Board and looks forward to her insights and leadership during her two-year term as chair.
Tomeka Hart, Senior Program Officer, North America Public Engagement & Insights, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
ln her role at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hart leads grant making to civil rights and equity organizations. She previously served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Institutional Advancement for the Southern Education Foundation (SEF), leading and supporting SEF’s work to improve student outcomes from early childhood to adulthood, helping the CEO and staff to implement a broad range of advocacy, research, and coalition building activities across the Southern region. Prior to SEF, she served as the Vice President of African American Community Partnerships for Teach for America, where she was responsible for building alliances within the African American community, including civil rights groups, policy organizations, HBCUs, and media outlets. Prior to joining Teach For America, Hart served as the president and CEO of the Memphis Urban League. She is a former middle/high school teacher, and a former labor/employment lawyer.
Hart served two terms on the elected Memphis City Schools Board of Education, serving 2005-2013. She served as Board President 2008-2009. In 2010, Hart joined with a colleague and led the efforts to merge the Memphis City and Shelby County school systems. In 2011 Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam appointed Hart as a Commissioner of the Education Commission of the States, a national non-partisan organization that helps states develop education policies. Former Tennessee Governor, Phil Bredesen, selected her for Tennessee’s Race to the Top team, and he appointed her to the state’s Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee, and the First to the Top Advisory Council.
Hart is an Aspen Institute Rodel-Fellowship in Public Leadership fellow and a Pahara-Aspen Institute Education Fellow, and has served on several non-profit boards. She holds a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University; a B.S. degree in Marketing Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University; and a J.D. from the University of Memphis.
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Contact: Blair Mann, bmann@dataqualitycampaign.org, 610-724-5914
About the Data Quality Campaign
The Data Quality Campaign is a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization leading the effort to bring every part of the education community together to empower educators, families, and policymakers with quality information to make decisions that ensure that students excel. For more information, go to dataqualitycampaign.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@EdDataCampaign).
