N. Gerry House has been President and CEO of the Institute for Student Achievement since April 2000. Prior to joining ISA, she spent 15 years as a superintendent for schools in Memphis, TN, and Chapel Hill, NC. House also has served as a teacher, junior and senior high school guidance counselor, principal and assistant superintendent.

She is an active leader in the education community, serving on many national boards, including the Board of Directors of the Educational Testing Service (former chair, 2002-2005); Advisory Committee of the Harvard Change Leadership Group; AutoZone Board of Directors; Woodrow Wilson Foundation Board of Directors; member of Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education; National Advisory Board for National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education (NCSPE); and The New Teacher Project Board of Directors, among others. Additionally, House was recently named to the Board of Trustees of Adelphi University.

She has received numerous professional accolades throughout her career. House was named National Superintendent of the Year in 1999 by the American Association of School Administrators for her extensive school reform efforts in the Memphis school system. House's additional awards and recognitions include: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Education, Alumni Leadership Award (2000); The Harold J. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education Award (1999); Tennessee Superintendent of the Year (1998); and The Council of the Great City Schools' Richard R. Green Award (1998). She was also named twice to the Executive Educator Magazine's listing of Top 100 Executive Educators in Education.

House earned her doctorate in Education Administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and holds a master’s degree in Counseling from Southern Illinois University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English Education from North Carolina A. & T. State University and is the recipient of Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degrees from Rhodes College and Lemoyne Owen College, both in Memphis, TN.

Alliance Connection: As the President & CEO of ISA, another Leeds’ founded education organization, House works closely with Bob Wise and the Alliance. She was also a guest speaker at our 2004 High School Policy Conference.