Mark Dessauer has taught a lot of people across North Carolina and around the country how to craft an elevator speech so that it becomes a “lightbulb moment.” He has taught even more people how to craft events to shape change.
Dessauer is an expert in communications. But he is also an expert in community.
On Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, State Superintendent Mo Green announced that Dessauer will be the chief communications officer for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) effective Feb. 10, according to a press release. The position is part of Green’s leadership team.
Many know Dessauer from when he served as director for communications for the BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation from 2012-15. Others know him through his current role as senior vice president at Spitfire Strategies, where since 2015 he has provided strategic communications counsel to nonprofits, foundations, and community organizations.
Dessauer’s undergraduate and graduate degrees were in communications, and he also has a certificate in documentary studies from Duke University. But clients have sought his counsel for more than his academic expertise.
“Dessauer walks his talk — literally,” says the Health Federation of Philadelphia, noting, “he co-founded the Bull City Open Streets, North Carolina’s first open streets event, leads Durham community groups in finding more opportunities for biking and walking, and helped develop the Durham Public Schools Hub Farm, a 30-acre farm and wilderness area.”
Through his work with different clients over the years, Dessauer knows not just how to better communicate, but he has learned a lot about all things education from adverse childhood experiences to social determinants of health and education, early childhood, child and student obesity, oral health, and how to create healthier schools and communities.
To the Health Federation’s point about walking his talk, Dessauer walked the northern Camino trail in Spain — 507 miles in 24 days — and he attended and helped plan every frank gathering — “the gathering for people who change the world” — at the University of Florida’s Center for Public Interest Communications since it started in 2014 until 2023.
“As we share our mission and goals with stakeholders across the state,” Green said in the press release, “I’m excited about the wealth of experience Mark Dessauer brings to the table. Throughout his career, he has used his leadership and strategic communications skills to support organizations to reach their philanthropic and social change goals. This experience will help us as we uphold our commitment to celebrate public education in North Carolina.”
Dr. Derrick Jordan will serve as chief operations officer
Dr. Derrick Jordan — who had been serving as DPI’s deputy superintendent of educator and student advancement under former State Superintendent Catherine Truitt — will now serve as chief operations officer on Green’s leadership team.
Jordan, according to the press release, started his education career in 1999 and has worked in all levels from English educator in Edgecombe County to district superintendent in Chatham County to DPI to higher education.
He serves on the Board of Trustees at Central Carolina Community College and previously chaired the Board of Visitors of N.C. Central University.
“Derrick Jordan’s consistent investment in students and teachers throughout his career makes him the perfect fit for the executive leadership team at NCDPI,” Green said.
Learn more about Jordan in this podcast from 2022, where he talks about how to get away from business as usual in education, how to bridge relationships between students served in other sectors and public schools, and how to get people to lock arms and row in the same direction.
EdNC’s coverage of Dr. Jordan
Dr. Michael Maher will serve as chief accountability officer
Dr. Michael Maher — who had been serving as DPI’s deputy superintendent for standards, accountability, and research — will now serve as chief accountability officer on Green’s leadership team.
Maher is the son of a railroad worker and first generation college student who started as science high school educator and went on to earn his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from NC State.
He ran in the Democratic primary for state superintendent in 2020, and then when Truitt, a Republican, won the general election, she hired him to be the executive director of the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration. He played a key leadership role in DPI’s advisory group on testing and accountability.
Prior to his tenure at DPI, Maher was assistant dean for professional education and accreditation at the NC State College of Education. He previously served as vice chair on the North Carolina Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC).
“Michael Maher’s contributions to NCDPI over the past four years have been pivotal as our schools fight to help students overcome the challenges of learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Green said in the press release. “This, combined with his current work to examine how schools and districts are held accountable for learning, will continue to be an asset to NCDPI and students across the state.”
Maher’s articles on EdNC
Green’s executive leadership team takes shape
These hires, said Green in the press release, continue “to build a team focused on achieving educational excellence…. Each of them brings their unique skills, experience, and passion for bettering outcomes for the students and teachers of North Carolina.”
Green previously announced that Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin will serve as his deputy superintendent, and Geoff Coltrane and Elizabeth Yelverton will lead government affairs.
Here is Green’s organizational chart:
