Paquita Holland

Paquita Holland, a native of Puerto Rico, received her B.A. degree in Biology from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and her M.A. degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of the District of Columbia. She was involved in education in Puerto Rico, Chile, and the United States, served as a management executive with the Federal Government in Bilingual Education, was a member of the Transition Team that created the U.S. Department of Education, and personally briefed several U.S. Presidents on bilingual education. She later served as principal of an internationally renowned Washington DC bilingual public school and provided leadership for constructing a new 11-million-dollar school building by a public-private partnership funded exclusively with private funds. The Washington Post featured her leadership in a full-page article on "A Strong Principal." She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Smithsonian's Friends of the National Zoo and President of a foundation in Honduras dedicated to providing personal formation and high-school and university scholarships for impoverished students to become future leaders.