Elisa Villanueva Beard became the sole chief executive officer of Teach For America in 2015, after serving as the co-CEO alongside Matthew Kramer for two years. Prior to her role as CEO, she led Teach For America’s field operations as the chief operating officer. Elisa also returned to her hometown after teaching three years as a 1998 Phoenix corps member to serve as the executive director of the Rio Grande Valley region. Under her leadership, Teach For America currently impacts more than 750,000 students in over 2,600 schools. Elisa has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from DePauw University.