Margaret Spellings

Fall 2010
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Margaret Spellings is president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company and a leading national expert on public policy. Spellings also serves as a senior advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as executive vice president of the National Chamber Foundation, the Chamber’s public policy think tank. In addition, she is a senior advisor to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. Her work also includes guiding philanthropic and private sector organizations in meeting their strategic goals.

Spellings served as U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009. In that role, she oversaw an agency with a nearly $70 billion budget and more than 10,000 employees and contractors. As a member of the president’s Cabinet, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a historic national initiative to provide enhanced accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students.

In higher education, Spellings launched a national policy debate and action plan to improve accessibility, affordability, and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Spellings initiated international outreach and collaboration by leading delegations on behalf of the President of the United States as well as overseeing the development and implementation of international education agreements with countries such as China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.

As White House Domestic Policy Advisor from 2001 to 2005, she managed the development of the president’s domestic policy agenda. Her achievements include the development and passage of NCLB, oversight of the development of the president’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the development of a comprehensive immigration plan to ensure long-term economic stability and to secure U.S. borders, and numerous other initiatives on health and human services, transportation, labor, justice and housing.

Prior to her service in the White House, Spellings was senior advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas, led governmental and external efforts for the Texas Association of School Boards, and has served in key positions at Austin Community College and with the Texas Legislature.

Spellings serves on the boards of the American Action Forum, America’s Promise Alliance, Special Olympics, The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. She is also a member of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Advisory Council and The Aspen Institute Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process.

She is an experienced public speaker and media personality who speaks with authority on policy and politics to business and civic audiences. She has appeared on Meet the Press, Celebrity Jeopardy, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and the Colbert Report, among others.

Disclaimer: This information is accurate for the time period that this person was affiliated with the Institute of Politics.

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