Lisa Keegan | |
---|---|
17th Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
In office January 2, 1995 – May 2001 | |
Governor | Jane Dee Hull |
Preceded by | C. Diane Bishop |
Succeeded by | Jaime Molera |
Personal details | |
Born | Palo Alto, California, U.S. | July 20, 1959
Political party | Republican |
Education | Stanford University (BA) Arizona State University, Tempe (MS) |
Lisa Graham Keegan (born July 20, 1959) is an American education reform advocate and the author of the parenting book Simple Choices.[1]
She is the principal partner of the Keegan Company, an education policy consulting firm[2][3] and the executive director of "A for Arizona," an. organization promoting a "shift (of) efforts toward studying schools that, despite being low income, are certainly on the high end of success."[4]
She served as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction and as a senior policy advisor on education to Senator John McCain's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008.[5][6] At the 2008 National Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota she was a vice chairman of the Republican Party political platform committee, for which she wrote policy statements on education issues.[7]
Simple Choices begins with Lisa Graham Keegan's memoir of building a family through divorce, abandonment, adoption, mental impairment, sexual identity and all the challenges life has to offer. Rather than weakening the family, Keegan shows how these trials can help build a stronger family bond. The book concludes with advice on how to nurture children to lead a life of service.[8]
Keegan has advocated for comprehensive education reform, including emphasis on standardized testing, school choice methods such as school vouchers, tuition tax credits, charter schools, and open enrollment. Political leaders for whom she has worked included several governors including Jeb Bush of Florida, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Chris Christie of New Jersey, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.[9] After the 2014 election she was appointed as education co-chair of Arizona Governor-elect Doug Ducey's transition team.[10][11]