Supreme Court District 4
Sharon Porter Robinson of Louisville is a retired educator whose 31-year career took her from positions ranging from the classroom to the U.S. Department of Education. She has extensive experience in leading change and improving productivity in educational research and advocacy organizations.
She most recently served as president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education from 2005 to 2017, becoming the first African American woman to head the Washington-based nonprofit that represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs.
She was an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education from 1993 to 1997, leading the Office of Educational Research and Improvements. She worked for the Educational Testing Service, an international research and assessment organization, from 1997 to 2004, as president of its Educational Policy Leadership Institute in Princeton, N.J., and as vice president for state and federal relations.
Robinson began her career as a classroom teacher in the Fayette County schools and later taught at a U.S. Air Force base in Bitburg, Germany, worked with the Jefferson County Education Consortium and served as director of the National Education Association's National Center for Innovation.
Robinson holds bachelor's degrees in English and psychology, a master's degree in education and a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from the University of Kentucky.
She is a graduate of Shawnee High School (Jefferson County).
Robinson's term will expire April 14, 2024.
KBE SPOTLIGHT | Sharon Porter Robinson brings interest in education policy to board
Sharon Porter Robinson, a Vice Chair of the Kentucky Board of Education, talks with Brionna Jaggers, a junior at The Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County), in one of Jeramiah Elsner’s science classes. Robinson, a 1962 graduate of Shawnee High School, has spent about 50 years in education both as a teacher and working with private educational research and advocacy organizations.
Photo by Toni Konz Tatman, Feb. 20, 2020