Beth Purvis

Beth Purvis is an experienced education leader currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago International Charter School, a position held since August 2024. Prior to this role, Purvis was the Director of the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University, where efforts focused on character education in the U.S. Between September 2017 and January 2023, Purvis was the Senior Program Director at The Kern Family Foundation, overseeing significant grants and leadership development initiatives. As Secretary of Education for the State of Illinois from January 2015 to September 2017, Purvis advised state leadership on education policy and managed educational councils. Purvis previously served as CEO of Chicago International Charter School from 2003 to 2015 and held various educational roles, including Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Early Intervention Specialist in Tennessee. Purvis holds a Doctor of Education from Vanderbilt Peabody College, a Master of Arts from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Science from Bucknell University.