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Donna Peduto
Science Adventure School Project Advisor
Donna Peduto currently serves as Executive Director of the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative. The WVPEC is a non-partisan collaborative of diverse state and national leaders championing awareness and support of public schools through outreach, innovation, and convening of stakeholders.Under Peduto’s leadership, the WVPEC has convened three Legislators’ Forums on Education and the Economy and the inaugural Focus Forward: Preparing Today for the West Virginia of Tomorrow summit. Peduto brings a vast background and extensive expertise in education to the Science Adventure School team. Please click on her name above to see her Full Bio.
Donna Peduto currently serves as Executive Director of the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative. WVPEC is composed of various educators from West Virginia and the national arena who have come together to champion public education from early childhood to post-secondary levels at a time when it faces significant challenges but remains critically important to the nation's future. Under Peduto’s leadership, the WVPEC has convened three Legislators’ Forums on Education and the Economy and the inaugural Focus Forward: Preparing Today for the West Virginia of Tomorrow summit, with plans for a fourth Forum and a second annual Focus Forward summit, among other outreach events, in 2019. Ms. Peduto recently served as Director of Operations for the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE), Ms. Peduto was a key liaison to the WVBE members, the West Virginia Department of Education executive leadership, Governor’s Office, chairs of the legislative education committees, as well as other leaders and organizations around the state. In positions at both the WV State Board of Education and WV Department of Education she has had experience in drafting policy and code, i.e. School Innovation Zones Act. Through her affiliation with national organizations such as the National School Boards Association and the Council of Chief State of School Organization, she is also familiar with drafting national education policy.
Prior to coming to the WV Board of Education, Ms. Peduto served as Director of the Learning Lab Network Sites for the Stupski Foundation; a San Francisco based educational foundation, where she established a national network of six high schools in various states to incubate effective and innovative practice within the K12 environment.
While with the West Virginia Department of Education, Ms. Peduto served in leadership roles in the Offices of Organizational Effectiveness, Professional Preparation, and 21st Century Leadership. She was named the first West Virginia State Coordinator of the first Innovation Zones Initiative and later served as director of the 21st Century Community After School Learning Centers and Schools of Excellence.
Ms. Peduto was also Director of K-12 Initiatives at the EdVenture Group, where she supported the development and execution of projects related to K-12 technology training, curriculum, and research and consulting. As director, she led multiple educational research and technology-based programs in collaborations with organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ms. Peduto is a member of The National Association of State Boards of Education Executives (NASBE) serving as President of the National School in 2016, a board member of the Regional Education Lab, a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and was inducted into the June Harless Hall of Fame in May 2016. In recognition of her work on behalf of public education she was awarded the NASBE (National Association of State Boards of Education) 2017 David Kysilko award in November 2017, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated a steadfast determination to state boards of education and their important work.
Ms. Peduto is a graduate of West Virginia University with both a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Reading.