SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced on Friday that he has appointed Kindra Britt as Director of Communications for the California Department of Education (CDE).
Britt heads a division that handles internal and external communications, including media activities to support State Superintendent Thurmond, and CDE as a whole. She replaces outgoing Director Bill Ainsworth.
Britt most recently served as Community Affairs Director for the Placer County Office of Education, where she started nearly 12 years ago as a Career Technical Education Instructor. Britt brings a unique perspective to her new role at CDE, having previously served in the classroom. In addition to her work in Placer County, over the last few months, she was on loan to Butte County as a Public Information Officer to assist Paradise Unified School District (PUSD) during the aftermath of the catastrophic Camp Fire. She managed media relations from all over the world in response to the devastation caused by the fire. PUSD had 3,500 students displaced after the fire, and Britt helped support the district in communications to first locate families and then provide them with vital information for recovery efforts and the return to school.
“I am pleased to have such an experienced, passionate, and energetic new member on the CDE team,” Thurmond said. “Kindra brings tremendous knowledge and dedication to public education, and I know this will align with my priorities as we hit the ground running in 2019.”
In addition to her great work at Placer County Office of Education, Britt has also served on the board for the California School Public Relations Association and is currently president-elect. Her network of school communicators throughout the state will serve as a benefit to CDE and her new role.
Born and raised in California, Britt is a proud public school graduate from Nevada County as well as a graduate of Sierra Community College. She later earned a B.S. in Kinesiology at California State University, Chico and a M.A. in Sport Management at California State University, Long Beach.
Jackson to lead Government Affairs Division
Thurmond also announced that he has appointed a new Deputy Superintendent for the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Government Affairs Division.
Khieem Jackson will lead the Government Affairs Division and serve as CDE’s liaison with local, state, and federal elected officials and government agencies. Jackson brings a wealth of expertise to CDE, with a diverse background in federal, state, and local government advocacy, along with extensive international experience as an officer in the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
“I am thrilled to have Khieem Jackson join our team as Deputy Superintendent of Government Affairs,” Thurmond said. “He is a strong advocate for students who need the most assistance, and brings invaluable insight from throughout the world supporting service members and their families.”
Jackson recently served as Director of Government Relations for the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), where he provided executive level policy and legislative guidance on critical issues such as curriculum, transportation, and energy. While at SDUSD, Jackson also advocated for career technical education incentive grants and increased support for school districts with refugee students.
Prior to SDUSD, Jackson served as Director of Federal Legislative Affairs with the USMC in Oceanside. In that role, Jackson worked with Governor Brown’s office to establish a monitoring process to measure the educational success of military students and advised military leadership on State education bills.
This came after Jackson served as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs to the U.S. House of Representative for the Marine Corps. In that role, he traveled to more than 75 countries in nearly five years, on numerous occasions meeting with heads of state, foreign dignitaries, and U.S. Department of State ambassadors and staff.
Appoints Deputy Superintendent of Government Affairs
As CDE’s Deputy Superintendent of Government Affairs, Jackson will be responsible for the administration of all departmental activities relating to state and federal legislation. Jackson replaces former Division Director Debra Brown, who is now the Director of Education and Government Relations at Children Now in Sacramento.
