New Director Spotlight with Dr. Gloria Henderson

Dr. Gloria Henderson, EdD, M.A., is an esteemed alumna of the University of Washington's College of Education, earning her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2021 and her Master's in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in 2010. With a robust background in educational leadership, Dr. Henderson brings a wealth of experience to her new role as Director of the Danforth Educational Leadership Program.

Before taking this pivotal position, Dr. Henderson was Assistant Superintendent at Clover Park School District, where she showed a steadfast commitment to fostering equity and excellence in education. Her career is characterized by a dedication to instructional leadership, cultural transformation, and advocacy within educational communities. As a faculty member at the University of Washington, Dr. Henderson continues to contribute to the advancement of educational leadership through scholarship and mentorship. 

Read her interview below to discover how she will reshape the Danforth Program as its new Director.

Can you share a bit about your journey in education and how it led you to the Danforth Program? 

As an adolescent, I wrote a list of my hopes and dreams. It hung on my wall through high school. On that list was my desire to become either a prosecutor (lawyer) or a teacher. Along the way, my dream was solidified towards education because I wanted to work to prevent damage, support others’ dreams, and ensure that all students would have the opportunity to make their own choices in life. Lawyers are cool! However, the type of lawyer that I wanted to be did not align with what I wanted for others. 

Though systems and institutions can impact the decisions a person makes, I knew that I could make a positive impact to help change the trajectory of students’ lives. A few years into becoming a teacher, I realized that it was not just about helping only one student and my job was done. It’s about supporting every child and working to change or dismantle systems that negatively impact students, families, and communities. Digging deeper into both the harm and the possibilities inherent in education, led me on my journey to become a school—and eventually—a district administrator in multiple roles. 

Over the last three years, I taught in the L4L program and became an advocate for some Danforth interns. This led me to more deeply engage with students and leaders within these programs. When the position opened, colleagues with whom I had worked and students whom I had taught, believed in my ability to be the next Director of Danforth. 

Side note: my mom pumped me up, too. She has always been a believer in my abilities and what I can do in the world. So, I took another chance on myself to influence and co-design what education can be with many other allies and co-conspirators entrenched in this noble and beautiful cause.

What excites you most about your new role as Director of the Danforth Program? 

I am excited to build on what has been the foundation and flagship areas of this highly-renowned program—and I am excited to form a vision and plan to move us forward to meet the needs of our ever-changing world.

How do you envision integrating your experiences from Clover Park School District into your leadership at Danforth? 

As an Assistant Superintendent in Clover Park, I had the opportunity to work with those who were already assistant principals, principals, and program managers. These leaders came from many different walks of life, backgrounds, professional experiences, and leadership programs. The aforementioned has and will inform my view of the Danforth program since it broadens my view of best practices and those ideologies, pedagogy, and practices that could be more effective to impact change. Thinking more broadly, my work and roles in various school districts has already been an asset in supporting some students find internships and employment opportunities as they embark on this whirlwind of a year.

What do you believe sets the Danforth Program apart from other educational leadership programs? 

When I spoke to a mentor, Dr. Kyle Kinoshita, about becoming an administrator years ago, I asked him for guidance regarding leadership programs. He unequivocally told me that Danforth was the place to be for several reasons—its forward-thinking curricula, its ability to push its students to think deeply and lead differently, the solid instructors from the field and the cutting-edge UW professors, its reach-back to past alumni to support current Danforth students, and the strong, positive name recognition due to the work its graduates were leading once they finished the program. Those reasons are still why the Danforth Leadership Program is the place to be.

In what ways does the Danforth Program prepare its graduates to meet the evolving challenges in educational leadership today? 

As a cohort member of Danforth 22, the area of school finance was not very robust, which was not uncommon for cohorts around that time. Now, this area is given more time and discussion to support Danforth students, which is helpful, especially for those who may enter the field from the start as lead principals or program managers. Also, as an assistant principal, it is crucial to have a solid foundation from which to start to support the principal or if the assistant principal has a role in the budgeting process from some school-based budgets. 

Considering the tightening of budgets and a microscope on funding or how funding is used (e.g., curricula and roles) in a highly-politicized climate. Education has always been political, as seen through who could legally learn how to read, Brown v. Board, voucher conversations, levy and bonds passage or failure, etc., but it is even more so in recent years. Therefore, we want our graduates to be prepared for both the known and unknown.

Could you highlight a memorable success story or accomplishment from your time in educational leadership that inspires your work today? 

As a Programs and Equity Director in a very large district in Washington state, I began managing/leading 9 programs and areas of responsibility without any staff to do this work with me and a very meager budget.  Over the course of three years, I advocated and pushed systems and people for equitable funding to support what this district put forth as its values and strategic plan. 

At the end of my tenure there, my department had a multi-million-dollar budget and 13 staff members to accomplish the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. Furthermore, the funding and additional people, allowed for deep work, harm reduction for staff, students, and families, community input and voice for systems-level and school-based change, and adaptive change for sustained impact far after my time ended.

Looking ahead, what are some of your goals and aspirations for the Danforth Program under your leadership? 

This work heartens me. I feel honored to be the new director of this amazing program. Here are a handful of goals and aspirations: 

• Grow the number of students in the program. 
• Increase the number of first-generation and historically marginalized and minoritized groups. 
• Broaden its reach beyond those who apply and are admitted. Danforth has many gifts that could positively impact those who did not attend our program. 
• Offer online/virtual continuing education classes to reach those far away from us. 
• Provide the opportunity for Danforth alumni to connect and extend their learning across cohorts to celebrate, sustain in our work, and imagine and re-imagine what else is possible.