Piedad F Robertson

Piedad F. Robertson was president of Education Commission of the States (ECS) from 2005 to 2007. She came to ECS from Santa Monica College, where she oversaw a budget of more than $200 million. In her 10 years as president there, she was instrumental in establishing the Academy of Entertainment and Technology, a multi-media center that prepares students for jobs in the entertainment industry. She also served on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Transition Team and was appointed as special assistant to Richard Riordan, Secretary for Education. From 1991 to 1995, Robertson served as Massachusetts Secretary of Education, where she supervised drafting of the comprehensive K-12 Education Reform Act. Some of her other accomplishments included developing regulations, guidelines and technical assistance for establishing innovative charter schools; working with K-12 and higher education officials to implement a dual-enrollment program for high school seniors; and developing and co-chairing a comprehensive plan for establishing a school-to-work system in the state. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Robertson was associated with two other community colleges: 1988-91, as President of Bunker Hill Community College in Boston; and 1980-88 as Vice President for Public Affairs and later Vice President for Education at Miami-Dade Community College in Miami. Robertson previously served on numerous boards, including the American Council on Education, the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, the Gates Millennium Scholarship, and the Institute for Higher Education Policy. She currently serves on the board of American Student Assistance and the Educational Testing Service. A native of Cuba, she also is the author of a cookbook on Cuban entertaining.