Tonya Horton Joins EL Education as Chief Operations Officer

EL Education is thrilled to welcome Dr. Tonya Horton to our Crew. Tonya joins us as Chief Operations Officer, leading our internal business operations across finance, legal, people, real estate, and technology.

“I am so excited to join the EL Education Crew,” said Tonya. “EL Education is having a powerful, positive impact on students across the country. Our products, and our partnerships with schools and districts, are helping to improve performance and narrow achievement gaps across student groups. Students are becoming leaders of their own learning, producing high-quality work, and mastering the knowledge and skills they need to thrive as individuals and as citizens. It is an honor to leverage my skills and experience in service of this important mission which is aligned with my personal mission of ending systemic inequities.”

Most recently, Tonya served as Executive Vice President of Central Operations at TNTP, overseeing internal business functions. During her nine years at TNTP, she also served as Executive Vice President of Talent and Culture. Tonya was Vice President and led a national portfolio of TNTP’s work. As a Partner, she led TNTP’s principal preparation program in Camden, New Jersey.

Before joining TNTP, Tonya served as the President of Teaching Trust, a leadership development nonprofit in Dallas, Texas. In 2008, Tonya joined the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s District and School Transformation Division. She served as a High School Portfolio Manager supporting 16 turnaround high schools and then as a District Transformation Coach for superintendents. Prior to her work in North Carolina, Tonya was a teacher, team leader, assistant principal, principal, and central office specialist in Plano, Texas.

Tonya’s career in education began as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow and a teacher in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School district, where she was awarded the Ben Craig Teacher of the Year Award. She holds a BA in history education and an MA in history from North Carolina Central University, an MPA from Rutgers University, and an M.Ed and Ed.D in educational leadership from the University of North Texas.

“As CEO of this great organization, one of my goals has been to assemble a world-class executive team to lead us into the future. Dr. Horton personifies this goal and will bring unified leadership and greater capacity to our operations as we scale our reach in service of impact,” said Scott Hartl.

Founded in 1991, EL Education is a national nonprofit partnering with K-12 educators to transform public schools and districts into hubs of opportunity for all students to achieve excellent equitable outcomes and release their unique genius. EL Education is guided by a vision of education equity, student potential, and a reimagined definition of student achievement, and offers research-proven resources and practices.

As COO, Tonya will coordinate and strengthen EL’s operations during a period of impressive organizational growth.

“This is an exciting time for EL Education,” said Tonya. “I am so glad to have the opportunity to be part of it.”