Carey M. Wright, Ed.D.

Dr. Carey M. Wright became the State Superintendent of Education for Mississippi in 2013 and left the office in June, 2022. Under her leadership, Mississippi initiated education reforms that have increased literacy skills in pre-K through grade 3, pushed student achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress to improve at a faster rate than most other states, and increased the graduation rate to an all-time high of 87.7 percent. Dr. Wright spearheaded initiatives that nearly doubled the Advancement Placement participation and success rate, resulted in significant annual gains in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency, and earned Mississippi recognition from the National Institute for Early Education Research as one of only four states that meet all 10 quality standards for early childhood education. Dr. Wright was appointed in 2019 by the U.S. Secretary of Education to the National Assessment Governing Board. She is a past president of the Board of Directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers, a Chiefs for Change board member and an alumnus of the Broad Academy. Dr. Wright also serves on the Reagan Institute Summit on Education steering committee and Stanford University’s Hoover Educational Success Initiative Practitioners Council.