Education 2025: GUIDERA, AIMEE ROGSTAD

In 2021, Guidera was the first state secretary appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a signal of the importance he placed on the post.

A proponent of charter schools and parental involvement in education, Guidera is responsible for leading the state’s public schools and has significant influence on postsecondary institutions, including the Virginia Community College System. In 2022, the state began establishing K-12 lab schools — public, nonsectarian schools based at colleges and universities.

Her tenure has not been without controversy, including pushback over what critics see as anti-transgender state policies in public schools and history curriculum revisions involving teaching about race. In March, she issued a memo urging Virginia-based institutions that receive federal funds to review all policies to ensure compliance with President Trump’s executive order on Title VI and race-based practices.

Guidera was the founder, president and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit focused on using student testing data to improve schools.
Before founding DQC, Guidera was director of the Washington, D.C., office of the National Center for Educational Achievement and vice president and chief of staff for the National Alliance of Business.

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