Deborah R. Grayson

As chief education officer, Grayson will further the Society’s efforts to amplify and extend the work of National Geographic Explorers into classrooms, communities and with young people, in support of the Society’s mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. She will work to advance the organization’s vision for millions of educators and young people to develop an “Explorer Mindset” by 2030.

As a member of the senior leadership team, Grayson will serve as an internal and external champion of the Society’s education initiatives. She will oversee the development of products and partnerships that bring the organization’s educational approach to students and educators around the world. In collaboration with senior program colleagues and the business development officer, she will participate in the development of new high-impact, revenue-generating, education-related initiatives that advance the Society’s mission and new sustainable business model.

Grayson has more than 20 years of experience leading a variety of leadership, learning, and organizational development initiatives in the United States and internationally. She served as the Senior Director of Leadership and Organizational Development at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), where she designed and implemented a strategy for leadership and learning in support of research library leaders who are making significant shifts given changes in research, teaching and learning. Grayson also previously served as vice provost of Learning Design and Experience at University of Maryland Global Campus, where she and her team provided a mix of services that included the design and development of online courses, creation of open educational resources, design and implementation of global learning systems, development and implementation of blended learning solutions, and program development and management.

Grayson’s current scholarly and artistic interests focus on the intersection of science, technology and culture. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in American studies from Michigan State University, and her B.A. in English literature from the University of Maryland, College Park.