Speaker Information

Secretary, Arkansas Department of Education
Commissioner, ADE Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Jacob Oliva as secretary for the Arkansas Department of Education. Oliva began as secretary on January 10, 2023. The Arkansas State Board of Education also selected Oliva as commissioner of ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education on January 12, 2023.

Prior to being named secretary and commissioner, Oliva served in numerous roles at the Florida Department of Education, most recently as interim commissioner. He joined the Florida department as executive vice-chancellor of the Public Schools Division in 2017 and became chancellor in 2019, where his division supported more than 2.8 million students in approximately 3,600 Florida public schools.

In 2021, he was promoted to senior chancellor, and his responsibilities expanded to include early learning, school choice programs, school safety, and school accountability. Additionally, he encouraged statewide leadership and communication between the Florida Department of Education and the state’s school districts.

Oliva is a graduate of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Flagler College in Florida. He began his educational career more than two decades ago as an elementary teacher for students with special needs. He later served as a principal at both the elementary and high school levels and as an assistant superintendent and superintendent of Flagler County Schools.

Edie Stewart currently serves as the Director of Educator Preparation for Arkansas’ Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Edie began her career over 30 years ago as an elementary and special education teacher before moving into higher education. She received her Bachelors of Science in Education from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and her Master’s of Science degree in Special Education from the University of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut. Before joining the ADE, she taught in elementary and special education classrooms in Arkansas, Connecticut, Tennessee and Ohio, spending the majority of her teaching career in urban school districts. She served as an instructor at Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio before joining the faculty of the University of Cincinnati’s educator preparation program where she led the teacher preparation program and taught a variety of upper level undergraduate education courses.. Edie moved back to her home state of Arkansas in 2018 and served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. She led 8 departments including the Offices of Admissions, Recruitment, Military Student Services, International Student Services and TRIO Student Services, among others. While at UA Little Rock, she co-authored the campus’ Recruitment and Retention Strategic Plan. Currently Edie leads the teacher recruitment and retention team, oversees both traditional and alternative routes to licensure efforts which includes Arkansas’s Professional Educator Pathway, educator preparation program approval and serves as a liaison between the DESE and Arkansas’ educator preparation programs. Edie is passionate about education and opportunities to ensure all Arkansas aspiring teachers are effectively prepared to be Day-One ready 

Dr. Monica riley is the executive director of the School of Education at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith.  She holds a Ph.D. in elementary education with a minor in reading from Mississippi State University along with master's and bachelor's degrees in elementary education from the University of West Florida and Southeastern University, respectively. 

Josh B. McGee is an economist who is a faculty member in the Department of Education Reform and associate director of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas. McGee also serves as the chief data officer for the State of Arkansas. His work focuses on helping governments, nonprofits, and companies use data and evidence to make better decisions. His research investigates issues related to retirement policy, PK–20 education, and economic development and has been published in popular media outlets and scholarly journals. McGee have extensive experience working in leadership roles in education, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy.

Gema Zamarro (Ph.D. Economics) is a Professor in Education Reform and Economics at the University of Arkansas and 21st Century Endowed Chair in Teacher Quality. She is also an adjunct Senior Economist at the USC Center for Economic and Social Research. Her research is motivated by policy-relevant questions and the use of rigorous methods to help inform policy, with a focus on education policy. Her current research focuses on the study of teacher labor markets and gender and education impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Her work has been featured numerous times in the media including Washington Post, New York Times, Chalkbeat, NPR, Scientific American, among others. 

Andrew Camp is a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas' Department of Education Reform.  Prior to pursuing his PhD, Andrew taught science and mathematics in the Delta region from 2015-2020.  Andrew's research interests center around understanding how to ensure that all students have equal access to effective teachers.  Recently, Andrew has published work documenting factors related to families' educational decisions, teacher burnout, and turnover during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Ross White is the director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the Arkansas Department of Education. Before serving as vice principal at Siloam Springs High School, a position he has held since July 2019, White was the director of the school’s CTE program. From August 2008 to July 2018, he was a member of the career development and marketing faculty for the Alma School District. White earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Education in May 2008 and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership in May 2012 from Arkansas Tech University at Russellville. He received an Education Specialist in Educational Leadership degree in August 2020 from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. White also is a member of several professional organizations, including the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, Arkansas Association of Career and Technical Education Administrators, and Arkansas Association for Career and Technical Education. He currently serves as a board member for the Arkansas Tech University Alumni Board. 

Quentin Suffren is the Senior Advisor of Innovation Policy for ExcelinEd.  Previously, Quentin served as executive director of the college, career and military preparation at the Texas Education Agency. He also held leadership positions with Amplify Education, an education consulting and technology firm, TNTP and The Learning Institute. Quentin began his career as a high school English teacher. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Memphis.

Aaron Duvall is currently the inaugural Career and Technology Education Director for Responsive Education Solutions (RES) of Arkansas, a charter school organization that is taking an innovative approach to educating a high-risk population by creating nontraditional pathways for students and specializing in personalized and mastery-based learning. He is responsible for seven high schools across the state. Duvall has worked at RES for four years as an educator and administrator. Duvall earned his Master’s Degree from UCA in School Leadership and Management and graduated summa cum laude from UCA for his undergraduate studies, where he was named the University of Central Arkansas’ Student Teacher of the Year.  Duvall is pursuing his Ed.D. program in Rural and Culturally Diverse Education as a member of Southern Arkansas University’s inaugural cohort.

Dr. McKenzie is Executive Director of the Office for Education Policy and a Research Assistant Professor. She joined the Department of Education Reform in 2015, having previously worked as the Director of Assessment, Research, and Accountability for Fayetteville Public Schools.

McKenzie’s passion is helping educators and policymakers understand student data in order to make decisions that increase learning for all students. She has taught PreK to university level, is a certified Curriculum Auditor, and provides training and consulting to public school districts. 

McKenzie serves as a subject matter expert for the USDOE, as a Governing Board Member for the USDOE Regional Education Lab (REL) Southwest, as a member of the Arkansas Leadership Academy Evaluation Committee, and as a member of Arkansas’ ESSA Steering Committee. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods from the University of Arkansas in 2009.

Sarah Morris is a second year PhD Doctoral Academy Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Arkansas. She is certified to teach 7-12 Mathematics, and was an 8th grade math teacher for five years in East Tennessee. Sarah researches grading in Arkansas, grading equity practices, and the 9th grade year. She co-authors a motivational study on grading, a descriptive study on Arkansas's 9th grade GPAs, a descriptive study on Arkansas's 9th grade course failures, a Freshman Success Report, and an op-ed for grading fairer. 

Kate Barnes is a Doctoral Academy Fellow at the University of Arkansas's Department of Education Reform.  Prior to pursing a PhD at the U of A, Kate taught middle school math and science in Northwest Arkansas for five years.  Kate's research interest center around various models of public school, both structually, or the various paths students can take in the K-12 system.  Kate's recent work includes an analysis of building transitions on student value-added growth, predictors for student placement in alternative learning environments, and most recently, a qualitative explorations for Arkansas districts adopting four-day schools weeks or year-round calendars.