Sandra Boyd Named Achieve's COO and Senior VP

NEWS STATEMENT

Media Contact: Chad Colby (202) 419-1570, ccolby@achieve.org

SANDRA BOYD NAMED ACHIEVE'S COO AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT 

WASHINGTON - February 11, 2013 - Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, today announced the promotion of Sandra Boyd to serve as Achieve's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Senior Vice President.

"Sandy's extraordinary leadership and strategic vision have helped guide and grow the college- and career-ready agenda since she joined Achieve in 2006," said Cohen. "Her sage advice, judgment and strong management skills are invaluable to me and to Achieve."

Achieve continues to further its mission ensuring students graduate from high school ready for college, careers and citizenship through leading the 35-state American Diploma Project Network; managing the state-led development, adoption and implementation of Next Generation Science Standards; assisting states with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards; supporting states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortium and stepping up its advocacy and collaboration with states and other partners to ensure public support for the college- and career-ready agenda.

In her new role, Ms. Boyd will provide overall organizational leadership, serve as "second in command" on a daily basis and be responsible for organizational activities and operations. Her specific areas of responsibility will include leadership of Operations (Human Resources, Information Technology, and Contracts) as well as Legal Compliance and Internal Communications.

She will devote half of her time to the COO position, and half to her current position as Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives where she will continue to be responsible for positioning Achieve's initiatives and major programs for success by overseeing Achieve's strategic alliances and partnerships, as well as the organization's external affairs and communications efforts.

Before joining Achieve, Ms. Boyd was vice president of human resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, where she directed a number of coalitions and served as a senior advocate before Congress and federal agencies on workplace issues, including education, training, competitiveness and immigration. Learn more about Sandra Boyd.

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About Achieve

Created in 1996 by the nation's governors and corporate leaders, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, DC, that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability. Achieve is leading the effort to make college and career readiness a national priority so that the transition from high school graduation to postsecondary education and careers is seamless. In 2005 Achieve launched the American Diploma Project Network. Starting with 13 original states, the Network has now grown to include 35 states educating nearly 85 percent of all U.S. public school students. Through the ADP Network, governors, state education officials, postsecondary leaders and business executives work together to improve postsecondary preparation by aligning key policies with the demands of college and careers. Achieve partnered with NGA and CCSSO on the Common Core State Standards Initiative and was selected by states to manage the PARCC assessment consortium. The PARCC consortium was awarded Race to the Top assessment funds to create next generation assessments in math and English aligned to the CCSS. Achieve is also managing a state-led process to develop K-12 Next Generation Science Standards based on the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education. For more information about the work of Achieve, visit www.achieve.org.