Education transformation requires more than good intentions. It requires leaders who understand how systems actually move and who can align governance, strategy, talent, community partnerships, and execution around a coherent plan. It requires the discipline to stay focused when implementation becomes complex and the courage to make bold decisions when the stakes are high.
Leadership at that level rarely develops in isolation. It is strengthened within communities that share language, standards, and a commitment to results. Over time, when that shared commitment is sustained, it becomes more than collaboration. It becomes momentum.
For more than three decades, the Ford Next Generation Learning network has been one such community. It has brought together experienced superintendents, district leaders, state officials, and practitioners who have led complex systems and delivered measurable outcomes. Through the Ford NGL approach to the academy model, districts have redesigned high schools around college and career pathways, strengthened employer partnerships, aligned governance structures, expanded dual enrollment and credentialing opportunities, and created clearer postsecondary routes for students. The work is not theoretical. It is strategy grounded in practice, refined through experience, and sustained through leaders who remain connected long after implementation begins.
When leaders shaped by that level of rigor are recognized or called to broader service, it reflects something larger than a single milestone.
It is within that context that recent recognitions and appointments take on deeper meaning .Dr. Donna Woods’ selection as a 2026 recipient of a prestigious Humanitarian Award reflects the kind of leadership this community has consistently embodied.
Dr. Donna Woods serves as an executive leadership coach and Ford Next Generation Learning community coach with a wealth of experience in education and transformational leadership. Her career spans roles as executive director of school leadership, career and technical education teacher, school counselor, vocational evaluator, teacher specialist, assistant principal, and high school principal within Hampton City Schools. In each role, she has focused on building capacity, strengthening leaders, and aligning systems to purpose.
Her leadership was instrumental in transforming Hampton, VA’s high schools into college and career academies aligned to the Ford NGL approach. Through intentional redesign, Hampton strengthened partnerships among business, industry, higher education, and community organizations. The result was not a program layered onto existing structures, but a systemic shift in how high schools were organized and how students connected learning to future opportunity. Dr. Donna Woods has shared these lessons with educators, families, industry leaders, and community partners across diverse settings, helping other communities translate strategy into action.
Her professional leadership extends beyond district roles. Dr. Donna Woods has served as past chair of the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, vice chair of the Virginia Peninsula Community College Board, and a member of the Cognia Virginia State Council Board. She holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech, an Education Specialist degree from George Washington University, a Master of Arts in Counseling from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her career reflects both academic rigor and lived experience.
Her story also reflects a broader trajectory of leaders connected through this network stepping into influential roles at the state level.
In January 2026, Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger announced that Dr. Jeffery Smith, former Superintendent of Hampton City Schools, will serve as Virginia’s next Secretary of Education. Dr. Jeffery Smith led the fourteenth-largest school division in the Commonwealth from 2015 to 2023. During his tenure, Hampton increased on-time graduation rates, reduced dropout rates, expanded academies and career pathways, and strengthened dual enrollment programming. Upon his retirement, he was widely regarded as a mentor to fellow superintendents across Virginia.
As Virginia’s Secretary of Education, Dr. Jeffery Smith now oversees education from early childhood through higher education and workforce systems. The role provides guidance to the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Community College System, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, and the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities. It is a position that shapes statewide strategy, policy alignment, and long-term system performance.
Similarly, in October 2025, Paul Ketcham, Superintendent of Batesville Community School Corporation, was named Assistant Secretary of Education for the State of Indiana. After nine years leading Batesville and prior service in Milan, Mr. Ketcham was recognized as the 2025 Indiana Superintendent of the Year. Under his leadership, Batesville launched the Bulldog Ready initiative, expanded early literacy efforts, strengthened partnerships with industry and higher education, and earned state and national recognition for academic excellence. In his new role, he works alongside Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner to advance statewide K 12 priorities.
Taken together, these milestones reflect a clear and emerging pattern. Leaders who have demonstrated the ability to align systems, improve outcomes, and build strong community partnerships are being called to serve at broader levels of influence. This is what transformation with a capital T requires. It demands courage, disciplined execution, and a roadmap that connects strategy to measurable impact.
For more than thirty years, this network has refined that roadmap. It has built a community connected by shared practice and shared accountability. It has supported leaders who understand that sustainable improvement is not accidental but engineered through coherent design and consistent implementation.
Dr. Donna Woods’ Humanitarian Award is a meaningful and personal honor. It also reflects the caliber of leadership present within a broader movement committed to advancing education through evidence-based strategy, authentic partnership, and long-term system change.
We celebrate Dr. Donna Woods for this well-deserved recognition. We congratulate Dr. Jeffery Smith and Paul Ketcham on their significant appointments. And we remain proud of a network whose leaders continue to step forward, shape policy, strengthen systems, and expand opportunity for students and communities across the country.
