Cile Chavez

According to Cile Chavez, an effective leader must have purpose, passion, integrity, and self-confidence. All of these are embodied in her personal leadership style. Chavez has spent her entire career - thirty years as a practicing teacher and administrator -demonstrating the attributes of quality leadership.

Chavez's career has given her many opportunities to practice the principles she talks about. She spent nearly ten years with Littleton Public Schools, joining the district in 1984 as deputy superintendent and becoming superintendent in 1989. She describes the job of a superintendent as one of creating an environment for excellence in learning where staff members are treated as professionals, and where both staff and students are invited to hold high expectations for their own performance.

Under Chavez's leadership, this major metropolitan school district began a process of reform and systemic change for which it received national recognition. The ability to establish an environment in which relationships can grow and flourish, and where thoughtful risk-taking is encouraged, are critical to the change process, according to Chavez

Since 1994, Chavez has been a nationally recognized speaker and consultant. She has been a distinguished lecturer for annual meetings of the American Association of School Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She has delivered keynote addresses for state administrator and school board associations in Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon and California. She has consulted internationally with the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools in Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines as well as the U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in England and Bermuda.

Chavez has twice received the Phi Delta Kappa Leadership Award, and was named one of the top 100 educators in 1993. However, when asked, she'll say receiving the Distinguished Educator Award from the students at Littleton High School in Colorado was her greatest accomplishment.

Chavez began her career in her home state of Louisiana as a social studies and mathematics teacher after graduating from Louisiana's Northwestern State University. She earned a master's degree in education from the University of New Orleans. After moving to Colorado, she continued her teaching career while earning her doctorate in education at the University of Northern Colorado.

President of Cile Chavez Consulting, she served as chairperson on the Board of Trustees for the Colorado State Colleges, and served on the Board of Directors for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce in Littleton, Colorado. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the greater Metropolitan Denver YMCA and is a Trustee for Denver Foundation.