Dr. Diana Greene

Dr. Diana Greene has spent nearly 40 years in education, beginning her career as a classroom teacher in inner-city, high-poverty schools in Jacksonville and Ocala, Florida. She advanced to the role of principal and later served as superintendent of the School District of Manatee County and the School District of Duval County, the 20th largest school district in the nation. As an African American woman, she has navigated unique challenges in these leadership positions while passing taxes to improve teacher salaries, moving Manatee County into the top quarter of the state for pay and raising beginning teacher pay in Duval County from $39,500 in 2018 to $56,000. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her district was among the first to transition to all-online learning and one of only six to implement mandatory masking, leading to a lawsuit against the governor. She retired from the superintendency in 2023 and now serves in a leadership role at the Children's Literacy Initiative, a national nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia that focuses on literacy instruction for children from birth to grade eight in marginalized, under-resourced communities, including Black, Latinx, and multilingual students. Dr. Greene also mentors women aspiring to become superintendents and draws on core values of transparency, dedication, and commitment to the work, centered on improving conditions wherever she serves.