Debra Schade, PhD

Research Associate

Dr. Debra Schade serves as the President-Elect of the California School Boards Association (CSBA), where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the Association’s direction and advocating for policies that strengthen public education across the state. As a member of CSBA’s Executive Board, she helps guide strategic initiatives, ensuring that the organization remains responsive to the evolving needs of school districts and communities while positioning CSBA for the future.

In addition to her statewide leadership, Dr. Schade is a trustee of the Solana Beach School District, where she has served for 23 years. She previously held the role of Vice President of the San Diego County School Boards Association, demonstrating her commitment to local and regional educational leadership.

Dr. Schade was honored with the 2021 Dede Alpert Award, recognizing her significant contributions to public education. This award is named after retired California State Senator Dede Alpert, who made a lasting impact on education policy in the state.

Beyond education, Dr. Schade has a background in technology and entrepreneurship, having helped grow a startup through product development, market expansion, and talent acquisition. This experience fueled her advocacy for early computer science literacy, particularly in K-6 education, where she emphasizes algorithmic thinking and computational theory as essential skills for the future workforce. She serves on the board of The League of Amazing Programmers, a nonprofit that provides underserved youth with JAVA programming instruction, engineering skills, and career-focused development. Her work in this space has included executive coaching and strategic planning during periods of organizational growth.

A former NCAA athlete, Dr. Schade continues to balance her professional and personal life with competitive tennis, running, and ocean sports. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family. She and her husband live in California and have three sons, all engineering graduates from the University of California system.