Annie Holmes
Chief Equity Officer
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
Headquarters: Washington, DC
Industry: Education Management
CEO: Carissa Moffat Miller, PhD
Website: www.ccsso.org
Her Credentials: BS, education, Temple University; M Ed, college student affairs, M Ed, higher education administration, and PhD, adult education and lifelong learning (ABD), The Pennsylvania State University
Her Philosophy: Access to opportunities provides for pathways to success.
Annie Holmes was hired as CCSSO’s chief equity officer in 2018. In 2019, Holmes and her team got off to a running start by creating an equity map that identifies where members are in their equity journey and lays the foundation for tracking progress toward achieving equitable outcomes for students. Internally, they applied an equity lens to multiple processes and policies, including the employee handbook, staff training, and resource development.
Holmes and her team secured approximately $1 million in grant funding to support internal DEI capacity building, as well as external initiatives, and began the creation of affinity groups for members by exploring internal affinity groups identified by staff and identifying equity leads across the membership. Under her leadership, CCSSO recently hired a veteran and identified necessary changes to ensure that the organization is truly accommodating people with disabilities.
