Carissa Moffat Miller earned an M.A. in Sociology with a minor in statistics from the University of Wyoming in 1999. She then went on earn her doctorate in education from the University of Idaho (Ph.D, 2009).Since graduation she has served in numerous positions that form and implement education policy. She worked for the Idaho State Board of Education administering the state assessment program for K-12 and then as a research associate for Boise State University conducting grant-funded research focused on aging issues and nursing shortages. She returned to the Idaho Department of Education in 2009 as the Deputy Superintendent of the 21st Century Classroom Division. In this role she oversaw all assessment, accountability, content, and school choice programs. As the Deputy, she led the writing and negotiating regarding Idaho's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver and deployment of a statewide growth model. In February 2013 she joined the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington, DC, as the Deputy Executive Director. In her new role, she manages all major membership events and ensures all activities are aligned with state education chiefs’ priorities, oversees the advocacy strategy regarding laws and policies as they affect states including advocating with Congress and the U.S. Department of Education, and provides guidance and direction on policy strategies and positions. Carissa lives with her husband Clark and two daughters, Sydney and Kendley, in Bethesda, Maryland.
