Denise Juneau

Denise Juneau’s story takes her from Head Start to Harvard and from being a classroom teacher to a national education leader. Juneau is an enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa Tribes and a descendant of the Blackfeet tribe. She received her bachelor's degree in English from Montana State University and did graduate work at Harvard and the University of Montana School of Law. Juneau worked as a teacher, lawyer and director of Indian education before she was elected Montana's Superintendent of Public Instruction. She was the first American Indian woman in the country to be elected to an executive statewide office and was named National Indian Educator of the Year in 2009.  She launched “Graduation Matters Montana,” an initiative that has increased Montana’s graduation rate to its highest recorded levels. School and business leaders, community members, students and families worked together to improve acadmic standards, expanding college and career readiness. Juneau was recently selected the new superintendent for Seattle Public Schools.

Denise Juneau is a vibrant leader with a demonstrated record of accomplishment. Her story takes her from Head Start to Harvard and from being a classroom teacher to a national education leader.