Deborah A. Santiago is the Chief Executive at Excelencia in Education. For more than 20 years, she has led research and policy efforts from the community to national and federal levels to improve educational opportunities and success for all students. She co-founded Excelencia in Education to inform policy and practice, compel action, and collaborate with those committed and ready to act to increase student success. Among her experiences, Deborah has worked in federal government as a policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service and in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education informing program and budget efforts. She also served as the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Among Deborah?s community work, she has provided program design and implementation for the ASPIRA Association and translated data for community engagement as the Vice President for Research and Data at the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement. Deborah was appointed by Governor Northam of Virginia to serve on the Board of Visitors for the University of Mary Washington and the board of thedream.us.