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CU Denver alumna Dr. Susana Córdova (MA, ’00), Colorado’s Education Commissioner and recipient of the 2024 School of Education & Human Development Alumni Leadership Award, joined a forum with School of Education & Human Development (SEHD) faculty and staff on November 1, 2024. The fireside chat with Dean Marvin Lynn provided a space for critical discussions around personal and institutional commitments, innovative strategic plans, and potential collaborative efforts to expand equity and access to educators entering the workforce while advancing high-quality educator preparation and highly effective schools.

Dr. Córdova shared details around what drew her to leadership, her leadership journey, her vision for advancing education in Colorado, and the Colorado Department of Education’s Strategic Plan.

“At the Colorado Department of Education, our job is to serve, guide and elevate our public schools,” Córdova said. “I think of service and guidance as two sides of the same coin -- providing support and clear expectations. And, with our unique position as a statewide organization, we can elevate by lifting up best practices, sharing the bright spots, changing the narrative and really highlighting the benefits of the profession in a way that will hopefully help recruit and retain educators in a different way.”

Event participants discussed ways to address educator shortages and diversify the teacher education workforce. Numerous innovative SEHD programs, partnerships, and centers were highlighted including: teacher education pathways NxtGEN, The Partnership for Rural Educator Preparation, Paraprofessional to Teacher Advancement Pathway, Call Me MISTER, ASPIRE to Teach, and Pathways2Teaching; grants like NxtGEN Colorado, Breaking Barriers, Mentoring for Excellence and Equity, NxtGen Colorado Bilingüe, and Nuestro Niños; graduate program opportunities in Early Childhood Education, Responsive Literacy Education, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education, Special Education, and School Psychology; and the contributions of CU Denver centers such as The Evaluation Center, The Paraprofessional Research and Resource. Center, The National P-3 Center, and The Center for Practice Engaged Research.

“The fireside chat discussions deepened mutual understandings around the important work happening at the University of Colorado Denver and the Colorado Department of Education around preparing and retaining high-quality educators, school leaders, school psychologists and school counselors in Colorado,” said Dean Lynn. “Dr. Córdova and members of our school community are dedicated to furthering our collaborative efforts moving forward.”