Dr. Bonnie Holliday officially assumed the role of President and CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association on Monday, July 1. Bonnie was selected by GCSA’s Board of Directors following a thorough national search that included significant community input and attracted an impressive pool of diverse candidates. She succeeds Dr. Tony Roberts.
Bonnie previously served as the Chief Strategy Officer at GCSA where she oversaw all organizational programming and service offerings. She also led GCSA’s policy and advocacy work for the last 5 years and successfully shepherded the passage of critical legislation to increase charter school funding, autonomy, and flexibility. Recognized as a leading education policy expert, she has advised top elected officials at the state level for over a decade.
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked to strengthen public education in Georgia–primarily through my ardent support of charter schools and the students they serve,” said Bonnie Holliday. “I approach this work with a true sense of urgency: urgency to expand the sector to meet the demand from families across the state, urgency to educate policymakers on the value charter schools offer, and most importantly–urgency to ensure every child in Georgia has access to a high quality public education option. There is simply no time to waste where our state’s students are concerned, and it is a privilege to lead GCSA at a time of both incredible need and opportunity.”
“It is with great pride that we announce that GCSA has selected Dr. Bonnie Holliday as our new President & CEO,” said GCSA Board Chair John Coleman. “We believe that Bonnie is the right leader to grow our impact, leverage historic investments in education and advance innovative approaches that work for schools. Having worked with Bonnie for the last 5 years, I have always admired her unwavering commitment to ensuring the interests of students are prioritized over the politics of adults. She brings the political acumen, leadership experience, and clear vision that’s needed to help our organization—and education champions across Georgia—meet this moment and bring about positive change in public education.”
Before joining the GCSA staff, Dr. Holliday served as Executive Director of the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia and also as Executive Director of the state’s academic accountability agency—the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. She also worked previously in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, and she began her career in education as a high school English teacher and AP coordinator at Banks County High School. Dr. Holliday received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the University of Georgia, and her dissertation research focused on charter school coalition building throughout the state. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two young daughters.
