Dr. John E. Deasy is the recently retired President of the Bezos Family Foundation.
Prior to this leadership position, he was superintendent of Stockton Unified School District in California. During his tenure, he oversaw a massive upgrade of new curriculum; technology for all youth, counselors, and mental health clinicians in all schools; championed homeless issues; and saw strong improvement in all indicators of youth success. Deasy was also superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he championed a “youth first” agenda credited with reversing the district’s school-to-prison pipeline, raising achievement and helping more students graduate ready for college and the workplace than at any time in the District’s history. Deasy also served as superintendent in Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in California and Coventry Public Schools in Rhode Island. During his tenures in these positions, Deasy led dramatic improvements in student achievement, high school graduation rates, and access rates to high quality courses and schools, while simultaneously reducing suspension and dropout rates. He has been honored as an outstanding educator for his roles as a superintendent, principal, and teacher.
Deasy was the Board Chair and former CEO of Reset: New Day, New Year, an alternative prison for young men aged 18-25 in the Bay Area of California. He was the founding Editor-In-Chief of The Line, a magazine dedicated to civil discourse on the front lines of social justice, entrepreneurship, and education. Deasy also serves at a Superintendent In Residence for the Broad Center and facilitates work in the Broad Academy while coaching a number of current and emerging national education leaders.
Deasy maintains a management consulting practice and has been active on a number of boards including: College Summit, UnboundED, Cambiar, TeacherCraft, and also serves on numerous advisory boards. He is also an Aspen Fellow from the inaugural cohort of the Aspen Institute’s fellowship of entrepreneurs in education and is a senior moderator for the Institute.
Deasy earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Providence College and a Doctorate from The University of Louisville in Kentucky. He has taught at numerous universities and speaks frequently at state and national events and conferences.