2024 Vice Chair
Columbus, OH
Chief Impact Officer
YWCA USA
Dionne A. Blue, Ph.D., currently serves as the Chief Impact Officer for the YWCA USA. She served as the chief equity officer of Columbus City Schools, where she led efforts to address equity and inclusion for all students, families, employees and community members in Ohio’s largest school district. She previously served as chief diversity officer for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, where she created and implemented a comprehensive and collaborative vision for diversity, equity and inclusion for the third-largest school district in Indiana. Her work continues to influence teachers, administrators and other staff to broaden the definition of, and approach to, achieving equity inside and outside of the classroom.
Previously, Blue was program officer on the Gates Foundation’s small schools initiative at KnowledgeWorks Foundation. There she was responsible for professional development and technical assistance for teachers and small school leaders across the state of Ohio. Before her work in the nonprofit sector, she had a career in higher education student affairs, serving as director of women student services at The Ohio State University, and coordinator of the African American Student Center at Washington State University.
Blue received a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, where she majored in English and minored in Spanish. She later earned a master’s degree in literacy education from Washington State University, and a Ph.D. in integrated teaching and learning (curriculum and instruction) from The Ohio State University, where her research focused on racial identity development and the impact of social contexts on education.
Blue has written a number of publications and is a member of several organizations for professionals in the fields of educational research, multicultural education and diversity. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service organization; and Junior League of Evansville, a volunteer organization that promotes advocacy for women and children. As part of these organizations she served in various roles including chapter president, vice president of membership and committee chair. Blue also is a member of the board of directors for the YWCA Evansville. She previously served on the Gilda’s Club of Evansville board, Lampion Center board, as well as the City of Evansville Celebration of Diversity Lecture Series and the Evansville/Vanderburgh County MBE/WBE Utilization board. She also is past president of the Joshua Academy Charter School board, where she was a member for nine years and president for three years.