Harriet Sanford

2002 Honoree - Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership

Biography

 

Harriet Sanford is the president & CEO of the NEA Foundation and has led its work since 2005. The Foundation’s work is built on its commitment to support the collaborative efforts of public school educators, their unions, school districts, and communities to focus on learning conditions that improve student performance.

Sanford began her career as a public school classroom teacher, which led to a senior executive career that spans more than 28 years, with 22 years as the president and chief executive officer of non-profit/ public organizations including the Arts and Science Council in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Fulton County Arts Council in Georgia. Her career is bound together by an unwavering commitment to strengthening community by building on the skills, talents, and aspirations of each of its members. She is the proud mother of a public high school senior.

Sanford holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and a B.A. in Education from New England College, as well as a M.P.A. from the University of Connecticut.