Whitney Chapa has joined the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry team as its vice president of education policy and budget.

“Whitney Chapa is a first-class talent in education policy; we’re lucky to have her,” Chamber President and CEO Glenn Hamer said. “As 2017 approaches, our education agenda is only growing in importance. We are so fortunate that we have someone with Whitney’s insight and experience to help us reach our goal of improving Arizona’s K-12 system for all of the state’s kids.”

Chapa previously served as executive director of the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools where she was responsible for overseeing more than 530 charter schools. She has also served as the state policy director of K-12 funding for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, designing and promoting education reform policies across the country. She previously served for three years as the K-12 budget analyst in the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting for former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

“The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made modernizing our K-12 school finance system and replicating educational excellence across the state a top priority,” Chapa said. “I cannot wait to be a part of this mission to improve educational outcomes, which will only boost Arizona’s economic competitiveness.”

Chapa was born and raised in Arizona and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in public policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development.