Dr. Leigh Ann Alford-Keith 

Areas of Expertise: Family and Community Engagement, Central Services Leadership, Data Visualization, Access and Opportunity, Improvement Science, Strategic Planning, Innovation, Professional Learning 

Dr. Leigh Ann Alford-Keith serves as Senior Director for Innovative and Strategic Initiatives in the Wake County Public School System, the nation’s 15th-largest school district, where she has worked for 17 years. She is a scholar-practitioner passionate about leadership for equity and community engagement.  

A proud North Carolinian, Dr. Alford-Keith was raised in the tradition of progressive Southern activism. She earned her Ed.D. from Western Carolina University and is also an alumna of Meredith College and UNC-Chapel Hill.  

Her educational philosophy is drawn from a Buddhist proverb: “If a seed of lettuce does not grow, we do not blame the lettuce. Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly.”