Chris Alejano is the K-12/Postsecondary Division Director for the City of Seattle?s Department of Education and Early Learning. In this role he is responsible for overseeing the implementation of $295 million in K-12 and Postsecondary investments over the span of the seven-year Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy. Chris brings a unique background that spans the entire educational system from the local to the federal level. He spent the first six years of his career as a kindergarten teacher. For Washington state, he staffed the Early Learning and Children's Services Committee in the State House of Representatives and served as Governor Chris Gregoire's policy advisor for higher education and workforce development. At the federal level, Alejano worked in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar. He also served as the Director of Education at TAF, a Seattle-based non-profit organization focused on serving students of color through a STEM education, and last held the position of Education Policy Advisor for City of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in the Leadership for Learning program also at the University of Washington.