Kelli Peterson

Kelli Peterson

2019 NACSA Leader

Chief Portfolio Innovation and Accountability Officer NOLA Public Schools

Dr. Kelli Peterson serves as the Chief Portfolio Innovation and Accountability Officer for NOLA Public Schools, the first all-charter school district. Dr. Peterson leads a team that is responsible for the accountability of 78 charter schools, building the capacity of 38 charter boards, development of new school strategy and the authorization process.

Dr. Peterson is deeply invested in charter schools. She has served as a teacher, Dean of Students, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction and School Leader, all within charter schools across various states.
Through educational pursuit, her efforts to alleviate inadequate educational opportunities for students of color is embedded at the core of her work.

Dr. Peterson earned her bachelor’s from Spelman College, Master of Education from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and Doctorate of Education from Tennessee State University.


Most Recent Posts
NACSA Supports Three Federal Bills to Modernize CSP and Help Strengthen Authorizing
The U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP) has supported the growth of the charter school sector for more than 30 years. Despite significant changes in the charter sector—especially...
NACSA Supports Federal Bills to Strengthen Charter School Facilities and Oversight
NACSA is pleased to support H.R. 7086, the Equitable Access to School Facilities Act, and H.R. 7082, the Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools (FLEX) Act, two bills that...
Research on School Closure Messaging: What Works
Five years ago, I was the COO at a charter school, and something was becoming increasingly obvious: we consistently did not have enough students enrolling to fill all our seats....