DoDEA Americas Director for Student Excellence

Dr. Judith A. Minor is the Director for Student Excellence for Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Americas Region as of July 24, 2017.

As the Director for Student Excellence for DoDEA Americas, Dr. Minor is responsible for educational oversight of the 51 schools, 2 districts, and more than 21,000 students in the Americas domestic footprint. This includes the planning, formulation, and development of policies and programs in all areas of educational administration and support for DoDEA Americas.

Prior to DoDEA, Dr. Minor served as the Associate Superintendent of Community Unit School District (SD) #308 in Oswego, Illinois. There she provided support to the Superintendent and leadership in developing and maintaining the best possible educational services for more than 18,200 students in the 7th largest unit district in Illinois. Her responsibilities included oversight of instructional programming and delivery as well as planning for fiscal management/efficiencies of a $200M budget, boundary redesign, and new building projects for alternative educational services.

Dr. Minor brings a wealth of experience as an educator in public education. Her previous positions included: Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, SD #308; Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning, Community High School District 99, Downers Grove; Director of Staff Support Services, Township High School District 214, Arlington Heights; and Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Staff Development, Community High School District 94, West Chicago.

Dr. Minor received her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University (Chicago), a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and Interdisciplinary Studies from National-Louis University (Evanston, Illinois) and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from McKendree University (Lebanon, Illinois). She also holds superintendent and administrative endorsements from Loyola University (Chicago) and a secondary education teaching certification from North Central College (Naperville, Illinois).

Her work over the years has garnered numerous honors and recognitions. Dr. Minor was selected in 2016 as one of 20 women nationally who have exhibited professional excellence and a commitment to their work in the field of education by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) to participate in the inaugural cohort of the AASA Aspiring Women Leaders Program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Minor hails from a military family where her spouse (retired) and 3 grown children all served proudly in the U.S. Air Force. In addition to her experiences as a military spouse and mother of military- connected children, Dr. Minor was a long-term substitute in DoDEA schools in Bitburg, Germany in the 1980s.