Deborah Walker, Ed.D.

President and CEO

“I get most excited about helping teachers do a better job in the classroom, so education can be more responsive to students—teaching kids, not subject areas. I’ve always wanted to make a difference.”

Deborah brings to her leadership of CTL deep experience at all levels of education—as a classroom teacher, principal, district assistant superintendent, and university faculty member, all in her native California, and as executive director of the Gheens Academy, which provides instructional leadership and professional development for the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the largest school districts in the nation.
 
At CTL she oversees all day-to-day operations, including organizational planning, development, and client management, and does direct contract work in leadership development and instructional improvement. Deborah guides CTL staff and partners to develop innovative strategies and approaches that are geared toward sustainability beyond the life of an individual project. She has a knack for capturing in practical terms concepts about educational leadership and learning, and for helping educators to understand what’s really going on in classrooms, and to build relationships with their students and with one another.
 
While a teaching at California State University, Hayward, Deborah received an Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award for developing a master’s degree program focused on action research and school leadership. She has worked as a professional development consultant in many California school districts, as well as for the Kentucky Department of Education. The subject of Deborah’s doctoral dissertation was the role of the superintendent in promoting principal instructional leadership, and she served as a designer and facilitator for the Danforth Foundation’s Forum for the American Superintendent.
 
Deborah has published numerous articles on educational leadership and change, and co-authored The Constructivist Leader, published by (Columbia University) Teachers College Press, which received the National Staff Development Council’s Outstanding Book of the Year Award, and has been widely used in principal development programs. On behalf of CTL, she wrote the book Teaching for Results: Strategies for Improving Student Performance, published by Phi Delta Kappa.
 
Deborah is particularly interested in issues related to equity and diversity among learners, and in opportunities to ensure that every student has a shot at a quality education. She notes, “When what happens in a classroom is good, it’s a wonderful experience for everyone.”

• Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award, California State University, Hayward
• National Staff Development Council Outstanding Book of the Year
• Former Executive Director, Gheens Academy, Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, Kentucky
• Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership & Multicultural Education, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California