Dr. Deborah Elder joined the Los Lunas Schools as Chief Academic Officer of Instruction, Accountability, and Innovation in 2021. Her belief that NM students are capable of world-class performance has driven her actions throughout her 28 years of service. In LLS, she established the Learning Innovations office. The Learning Innovations team builds on the talent in LLS to implement instructional innovations that accelerate student learning. Prior to LLS, she led the Office of Innovation and School Choice in the Albuquerque Public Schools. As a school principal, her leadership in integrating technology learning practices resulted in an increase in the school letter grade from D to A. Her career began in the classroom teaching elementary students. Dr. Elder is dedicated to growing the potential of educators. She is a performance coach for principals with the NM Public Education Department and serves as Adjunct Faculty with the University of Southern California Master of Arts in Teaching program.