For over two decades, Betty has been involved in IEL’s efforts to create and then work through action and learning networks to improve outcomes for children and youth. She has helped build bridges among the research, policy, and practice communities and has played a substantive role in all of IEL’s leadership development activities, including the Education Policy Fellowship, Superintendents Prepared, and Collaborative Leaders Programs. Betty works to inform, support and connect education stakeholders while maintaining a focus on the development and mentoring of women and minorities in the leadership pipeline. She played a major role in the development of e-Lead, the award-winning, Web-based resource focused on the professional development of principals, created in partnership with the Laboratory for Student Success at Temple University.

Betty's varied professional experiences include serving as an education budget analyst in the Governor's Office, State of Illinois; as the Director of Training Programs for Head Start in the Region III office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and as the Director of Head Start Training for the state of West Virginia. She began her career as a public school teacher in Springfield, Ohio and taught with the Department of Defense Education Activity at military installations in Japan, Ethiopia, Turkey, and Italy. Betty consults with schools, state agencies and other projects and initiatives across the country. She plans and facilitates leadership seminars, and writes articles and reports on education leadership and related issues.

Betty serves on the advisory board of a number of non-profit organization, including Cable in the Classroom and Pre-K-Now. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, and a member of its College of Education’s “Hall of Fame.” Betty holds graduate degrees from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education (Ed. M.) and John F. Kennedy School of Government (M.P.A.). She was an elected member of the HGSE Alumni Council and served a term as president. Betty is the 2005 recipient of the HGSE’s Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education.