Cynthia Gilliam

Cynthia Gilliam worked as a public school educator for 33 years in Hillsboro and Portland, Oregon. She also has had two international teaching experiences, one in both Argentina and Ecuador. After 17 years teaching, Cynthia moved into school administration. She was Principal at Mt. Tabor Middle School in Portland for 8 years. During her time there, she led her staff in developing a culture of assessment literacy. Teachers worked in learning teams and applied the strategies developed by Rick Stiggins and the Assessment Training Institute. Student achievement improved and teacher collegiality increased.

Cynthia was called to the Portland Public Schools central office in 2006 and worked in several positions there including Deputy Superintendent and Director of Administrative Hiring/Performance Management. She retired in August 2011 and now works as an Oregon School and District Improvement Network coach. She also provides consulting services through NW Educational Consulting, LLC.

Cynthia has a strong understanding of assessment literacy, balanced assessment, school supervision, grading practices, administrative leadership development and school improvement planning. She earned a BA from Bowdoin College and her MAT from Reed College. She completed her administrative program at Portland State University. In addition, she has attended summer leadership trainings at both Stanford and Harvard. Outside of her work Cynthia is a soccer fanatic, runner and a volunteer tour guide for Urban Tours in Portland.