Keynote | Opening Session

9:00am – 9:50am

Join Kathryn 'K.C.' Senie J.D., Ed.D, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, as she introduces
Dr. Estela López, Former Vice Chairperson, Connecticut State Board of Education

Dr. Estela López was reappointed to the Board by Governor Ned Lamont in June 2019, and was elected as Vice Chairperson of the Board in June 2019. In January 2015, Dr. López was appointed Interim Provost of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System, and served in that capacity through June 2016. Prior to that, she served as a senior associate with Excelencia in Education. She is the former vice chancellor of academic affairs of Connecticut State University System, serving from 2002 to 2007. From 1997 to 2002, Dr. López served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern Illinois University. Dr. López has received numerous awards, including the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association 2008 Achievement Award and the 2006 Latina Citizen of the Year Award. She is Chair of the Board’s Accountability and Support Committee and a member of the Academic Standards and Assessment Committee, and has served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Accountability. Dr. López was elected as the Northeast Area Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) in 2018. Dr. López earned a bachelor’s degree from Queens College, and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Spanish literature from Columbia University. Her term expires in February 2023.