AACTE Names Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy as Next President and CEO

(October 22, 2024, Washington, D.C.) – AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education) announced today that Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D., will become the new president and CEO, beginning Jan. 6, 2025. Holcomb-McCoy joins AACTE after serving as a distinguished professor and dean of the School of Education at American University (AU) in Washington, D.C., for over eight years.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors of AACTE, I welcome Dr. Holcomb-McCoy as our next president and CEO,” said Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, Ph.D., chair of AACTE’s Board of Directors. “Dr. Holcomb-McCoy’s vision and passion for educators, students, and their families are clear, and her collaborative experiences in PK-12 through higher education will serve her well as she leads our organization forward.”

During her tenure at AU, Holcomb-McCoy implemented various programs that heightened the visibility of the school within the University and on a national stage. Notably, at the start of her tenure at AU, the School of Education was housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, serving approximately 250 students. Under her direction, the unit became a stand-alone school in 2019 and now supports more than 1,500 students.

“I’m honored to have been asked to lead the search committee that worked closely with Russell Reynolds Associates to identify our next president and CEO,” said Monika Williams Shealey, Ph.D., immediate past chair of AACTE’s Board of Directors. “This rigorous process resulted in the identification of Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, who exemplifies the characteristics we believe are essential for the president and CEO, who will lead us into the next phase of AACTE’s trajectory. I’m grateful to the search committee members and board for their dedication and support during the search process.”

Holcomb-McCoy’s leadership at AU is far-reaching, having led initiatives in teacher preparation and education, partnering with districts/organizations like District of Columbia Public Schools, Teach for America, Friendship Charter Schools, City Year, Maya Angelou Schools, and City Teaching Alliance to engage over 300 students and enhance urban education in Dallas, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. She introduced the online Ed.D. program and co-created the Advancing Early Education Collaborative and the Child Development Associate (CDA) certification — which addresses workforce shortages and inequities. This program provides pathways for aspiring early childhood educators at AU and Trinity Washington University. Holcomb-McCoy also increased faculty diversity, with nearly 50% of the education faculty identifying as people of color.

Before leading the School of Education at AU, Holcomb-McCoy served as vice provost for Faculty Affairs campus-wide and vice dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University, where she launched the Johns Hopkins School Counseling Fellows Program and the Faculty Diversity Initiative. Holcomb-McCoy also served as an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland College Park and as director of the School Counseling Program at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

“I’m honored to take on this new role at AACTE, an organization with such a rich tradition of leadership, advocacy, and innovation,” Holcomb-McCoy said. “It’s also a role that brings together my love for educator preparation and my desire to discover new ways to ensure PK-12 students have the best education, no matter their background or circumstance.”

Holcomb-McCoy’s impact reaches beyond AU through founding the Teacher Pipeline Project, which has generated more than $1 million in scholarships for D.C. school students aspiring to teach. This groundbreaking initiative, the first of its kind for D.C. students and created in partnership with district education officials, incorporates the Dual Enrollment and Teaching Fellows programs, dedicated to developing a diverse, homegrown teaching workforce for the District.

A former public school educator, Holcomb-McCoy received her bachelor’s in early childhood education and master’s in school counseling degrees from the University of Virginia and earned a doctorate in counseling and educational development from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher, then went on to work as a school counselor and family therapist before transitioning to work in higher education. She is a 2023 ASCEND Aspen Institute Fellow, an American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow, and she has been a prominent voice in research and advocacy for preparing the educator workforce, from teachers to school counselors and principals.

Holcomb-McCoy will succeed Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D., CAE, who retired from AACTE last month. AACTE’s Chief Operating Officer Marta Perez Drake is currently serving as the interim president and CEO through January.

About AACTE

Established in 1948, AACTE is the leading voice in educator preparation. AACTE’s member institutions and programs prepare the greatest number of professional educators in the United States and its territories, including teachers, counselors, administrators, and college faculty. These professional educators are prepared for careers in PK-12 classrooms, colleges and universities, state and governmental agencies, policy institutes, and non-profit organizations. The AACTE alliance of colleges and universities and educator preparation programs collaborates with members and partners to advance the field of education by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and engaging in research-based inquiry, advocacy, and innovative practice. Learn more at aacte.org.

###