Dr. Elizabeth “Liz" Swinford is the Superintendent for the Vicksburg Warren School District. Through her administrative career, she has
developed a multifaceted leadership style, which is necessary to set forth students. She is a fully bilingual leader (English and Spanish)
with a commitment to student achievement.
The youngest of four (4) children, Dr.
Swinford was born in New York and raised in the beautiful island of Puerto
Rico. She graduated from Interamerican University located in San Juan,
Puerto Rico with a major in Biology, a minor in Secondary Education and
certification to teach Life Science and Biology. After teaching in the
middle school and the high school for nine (9) years she completed a Master
of Science degree in Educational Leadership in 1992 from Nova Southeastern
University located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While at Nova Southeastern
University, she wrote a staff development program titled “Culture: Beyond
Our Control But Not Beyond Our Awareness”, which was published in ERIC
Resources. Dr. Liz Swinford has also completed the requirements for a degree
of Doctor of education in Organizational Leadership with specialization
in Educational Leadership, with a grade point average of 4.0 on a four
point scale.
Dr. Swinford has quickly promoted within
the field of education. She attributes her success to her multicultural
background, her high level of energy, her dedication
to lifelong learning and her determination to make a difference. Her experience
stems back 28 years when she began her career as a science teacher.
Upon completion of her Master of Science
in Educational Leadership, she was offered and subsequently accepted an
administrative position. Her years as a classroom educator combined with
her leadership roles have provided her multiple opportunities to expand
her leadership abilities. Her experience as an administrator includes discipline,
attendance, school-community liaison, facilities, personnel, budget and
curriculum development in different multicultural settings and in school
districts ranging in size from 600 to 63,000 students. She has had the
opportunity to lead the development, revision and evaluation of curriculum,
instruction and pedagogy. She has also had the opportunity to experience
school law and policy development as the leader of the personnel division.
She has supervised the development, implementation and revision of personnel
policies as well as the induction and support programs for new teachers.
As a politically informed educational leader
she has been invited to present at National Conferences for the Southeast
Regional International Reading Association Conference, National Association
on School Based Healthcare Centers, Council of Greater City Schools, and
the American Association of School Personnel Administrators. Her writings
have been published in the Best Practices Journal for the American Association
for School Personnel Administrators, where she has served for the past
five years as Co-Chair for the Professional Development Committee and currently
serves on the Executive Board as representative for Region V, which includes
Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma
and Texas.
Dr. Liz Swinford has been honored with
the following awards: Who's Who Among International Business Leaders (1998);
Who's Who Among Professionals (2001); and Honorary Mayor-President and
Awarded the Key to the City of Baton Rouge (2006). In 2003, she represented
the Louisiana State School Personnel Administrators Association on the
Initial Louisiana Task Force to Define HOUSSE rules as required by NCLB
and in 2008 she participated on the Louisiana Department of Education Task
Force to expand the laws relative to Alternate Certification.
She is married to a southern gentleman,
Darren Swinford, and resides in Vicksburg, Mississippi. They are the parents
of 4 adult children and grandparents to 3 grandsons with a 4th grandchild
due in July 2011.
