School Board Appoints New Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer

The School Board appointed Dr. Jason Ottley as the new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at its Oct. 28 School Board meeting. Dr. Ottley has been serving as Interim Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer since Sept. 1.

Dr. Ottley has a diverse background in education spanning 17 years in a variety of settings, including, teacher, director of student support, principal, consultant, adjunct faculty, college administrator and college professor. Ottley received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from West Virginia University, a M.Ed. in special education from George Mason University, and a B.A. in English from West Virginia University.

His experience has been in understanding student development, learning & implementing theory, teaching strategies for helping underserved students, designing culturally responsive pedagogy and building programs focused on closing equity gaps. He has served in several roles as teacher, director of student support, principal, consultant, adjunct faculty, college administrator and college professor.

Dr. Ottley is involved in the community in a few notable ways. He currently sits on the Board for the Association of Black Researchers, After School All-Stars, and Bond Educational Group. His involvement with the community is both personal and professional. Dr. Ottley most recently served as a college professor at Kennesaw State University and principal equity consultant for several medium and large school districts across the nation.

In his current role as the Interim Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Dr. Ottley is in the process of revising the current equity policy as well as curate metrics for the 23 key performance indicators within the strategic plan. His knowledge of reviewing and revising policy regarding educational equity has allowed him to conceptualize and design systems that recruit and retain staff, challenge governance and policy to disrupt the abuse of power and provide vision and design strategic leadership for schools who are keen on becoming more equitable.
His appointment is effective Oct. 29.