Leila Walsh is a public affairs strategist with experience leading communications for mission-driven organizations. She served as chief communications officer for the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and, earlier in her career, as the district’s senior manager of multimedia communications. With 185,000 students, 27,000 employees, and 274 schools, HISD is the largest school system in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States.
Leila’s work in education also includes the role of chief external affairs officer at Chiefs for Change, a national network of school district superintendents and state education commissioners. She directed the group’s policy, advocacy, and communications workstreams.
Prior to Chiefs for Change, Leila led communications at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, now Arnold Ventures. As vice president of communications, she worked with the foundation’s policy experts and grantees to advance work in a range of issue areas, including education, public finance, and health care.
Leila began her career as a radio and television news reporter and spent 13 years reporting in San Antonio, Texas, and Upstate New York. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in political science and broadcast journalism.
Raise the level of performance consistent throughout school districts nationwide and creates a platform from which all magnet schools can flourish. Magnet Schools of America’s national certification process is designed to recognize the hard work of the best magnet schools in the nation and to help them as they grow.
