Dallas ISD Names New Leadership Hires
Dallas ISD has looked from within and without for its three most recent leadership moves, it announced Nov. 13.
The district announced that it had hired Susana Cordova as deputy superintendent, Brent Alfred as deputy chief of Construction Services, and Libby Daniels as Chief of Communications.
Cordova will oversee school leadership, teaching and learning, and strategic initiatives. She currently serves as superintendent of Denver Public Schools and has more than 30 years of experience in education as a teacher and school leader at elementary, middle, and high school levels. She began her teaching career as a bilingual middle and high school teacher, serving for a time as an elementary assistant principal and principal at a Title I school, which saw a 33% increase on the state’s reading assessment over four years.
As superintendent, Cordova has led significant improvements in student outcomes over the past five years, including an 8% increase in graduation rates and a 10% improvement in Latino/a student graduation rates. In 2020, under her leadership, students completed more than 31,000 rigorous courses with a passing rate of 89%, and elementary multilingual students outperformed their peers across the state in reading.
Alfred is a registered architect and certified construction manager and has experience as a designer, project manager, and owner’s representative in the construction field. He has more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction industry with the last 12 focused exclusively on K-12 schools and the learning environment. He is a graduate of Southern University’s School of Architecture in Baton Rouge, LA. He currently serves as a program manager for Dikita \\ Vanir, a joint venture providing program management services for the district.
Daniels has been with Dallas ISD since 2008 and has served in a variety of leadership positions, including acting chief and deputy chief of communications, executive director in charge of media relations, digital media, marketing, Dallas Schools Television, special events and customer service. She has worked strategically with departments to ensure brand alignment and consistent messaging and provided strategic leadership during crisis management. She brings more than 30 years of experience in communications both in the private and public sectors. Daniels earned her degree in communications from North Texas State University in Denton.
