About Donna Deeds
Executive Director, Blue Valley School District, Overland Park, KS

Donna M. Deeds has a rich background in educational leadership. She has served as the executive director of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) in the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas since 2008. CAPS is revolutionizing high school education through a nationally recognized, profession-based educational model. Created in partnership with seventy-four international business partners, hundreds of business professional mentors, six leading universities and education experts, CAPS is designed to provide high school students the skills needed to succeed in the competitive college environment and global work force. CAPS is an example of how private industry, such as IBM, Black & Veatch, Cisco Cerner, Sprint, Bayer, Garmin and the public education system can partner to produce personalized learning experiences that educate the workforce of tomorrow, especially in STEM related industries. In 2011, CAPS was awarded the prestigious Edison Gold Award for most innovative product. 

Prior to her work in Blue Valley, Deeds has served as assistant superintendent in the Durango School District in Durango, Colorado, as an elementary school principal and is the owner of Fast Schools, an education consulting organization. Deeds also has vast experience in the corporate world, serving as a senior organizational consultant at Lore International and in a variety of senior management roles at Sprint.

During her time at Sprint, Deeds received the Sprint Extraordinary Achievement Award, the University of Excellence Account Manager Award and the Eight Facet Winner of the Chairman's Quality Award.