Dr. Susana Cordova serves as the 18th Commissioner of Education for the Colorado Department of Education and is the first Latina to hold this position. She has worked in K-12 education for over 34 years, serving as a superintendent, deputy superintendent, systems leader, principal and teacher. She started her career as a bilingual teacher in Denver, Colorado where she grew up and went to school. As superintendent in Denver, Susana led significant improvements in student outcomes, including an 8% increase in graduation rates for African American Students and a 10% improvement in Latino/a student graduation rates. In 2020, under her leadership, students completed more than 31,000 rigorous courses with a passing rate of 89%, and elementary multilingual students outperformed their peers across the state in reading.

In her role as state commissioner, she leads with a practitioner's eye, striving to connect policy to real world practice. She works tireless to increase student engagement, accelerate student outcomes and strengthen the educator workforce. Under her leadership, the Colorado Department of Education has hosted field based sessions to support grow your own strategies and expand real work connections to learning for high school students.