Brenda Dickhoner is the President & CEO of Ready Colorado, where she leads policy initiatives to expand school choice, improve student outcomes, and strengthen K-12 accountability. With deep expertise in education policy, she previously played a key role at the Colorado Department of Education, where she helped design intervention strategies for the state’s lowest-performing schools and districts.

She has also worked on higher education policy at the Colorado Department of Higher Education and advised state lawmakers nationwide at the National Conference of State Legislatures. As the Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow at the Common Sense Institute, she researched the economic impact of education policies, highlighting the link between workforce development and educational attainment.

Appointed by Governor Jared Polis to the Education Leadership Council, she influences statewide policy decisions and serves as Chair of the board of the Colorado Charter School Institute, shaping the future of charter school governance. Dr. Dickhoner holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Colorado Denver and a BA in Political Science from Duke University.