Dr. Lisa M. Grillo
As a teacher, leader, and scholar with over 24 years of experience in public education, Dr. Lisa Maria Grillo has successfully led district and school level initiatives to improve student outcomes for diverse student populations in large urban and suburban school districts. As principal in the District of Columbia Public Schools, Lisa led her school community in earning Autonomous School Status, an award given to a select cohort of high- performing schools that allows for greater school-based autonomy in the areas of budgeting, instructional programming, and professional development.
As assistant superintendent for special education services in the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina, Lisa led a district-wide strategic planning effort to significantly improve the quality of special education services and programs for 20 thousand students with disabilities. In both of her roles as chief human resources officer in Baltimore County Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools, Lisa led the design and implementation of a contemporary human capital effectiveness framework which incorporated organizational and professional development for district staff, with special emphasis on principals and teachers.
In her full-time faculty positions at the University of New Mexico and Howard University, Lisa has conducted research in the areas of special education leadership; culturally responsive leadership; leadership for social justice; and strategic human capital management. She currently coordinates a doctoral program at Howard University which prepares principals for senior-level roles as district leaders.
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In addition to these experiences, Lisa has also led teams in the design, development, and implementation of the following:
• Internal principal talent pipelines through assistant principal preparation.
• Selection and professional development processes for school leaders in order to increase school leader quality and performance.
• District plans to improve efforts toward the recruitment, induction, and retention of teachers in high-need areas, such as special education, mathematics, and foreign language.
• Culturally-responsive systems at the school and district levels to increase outcomes for diverse student populations.
• Large-scale district reorganizations.
• Contemporary human capital systems that focus on strategic talent management.
• Strategic planning, with emphasis on the alignment of organizational structures, human resources and budgetary priorities to strategic goals.
• District-wide performance management systems, including teacher and principal evaluations.
• Family service models that focus on building relationships with parents, community groups, and parent organizations and emphasize communication, participation, and training.