Dr. Cheryl Watson-Harris is an exceptional educator, administrator, and community leader with three decades of experience in and out of the classroom. She serves as the president/executive director of Achieve Atlanta, the largest need-based scholarship program in Georgia. Throughout her 30-year career, Dr. Watson-Harris has demonstrated outstanding skills and knowledge of teaching and learning, professional development, and community partnerships that remove barriers to success and create empowering opportunities for children and their families.
Raised in New York City, Dr. Watson-Harris started her teaching career in 1993 in Brooklyn, NY. She served as a principal for 15 years and network superintendent at Boston Public Schools. In 2015, she returned to the New York City Department of Education, where she rose to first deputy chancellor in 2018, the second-in-command of the nation’s largest school district, serving 1.1 million students. In 2020, she became superintendent of Georgia’s third-largest district, DeKalb County Schools, and most recently, Dr. Watson-Harris co-founded Urban School Specialists, a consultancy that provides support and services to large urban districts and executive leadership coaching to education and nonprofit leaders.
Dr. Watson-Harris holds degrees from Marymount College/Fordham University and Harvard University, as well as a doctorate in Leadership and Innovation from New York University.