Russlynn Ali

Russlynn was Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama, and was the founding Executive Director of Education Trust-West and Vice President of The Education Trust. 
 In 2012, Russlynn was named Managing Director of Education at Emerson Collective. In 2014, she also became CEO and co-founder—with Laurene Powell Jobs—of XQ Institute. XQ is committed to transforming public high schools to close gaps in opportunity and achievement and making schools the center of community revitalization. Russlynn began her career as a classroom teacher. She’s an attorney and an advocate who believes that what’s needed today is a powerful movement to bring American education into the 21st century.