Debra Sanchez is Executive Vice President, Government and External Affairs and Acting Corporate Secretary for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She leads the Education team, as well as oversees Government and External Affairs. She is also Acting Secretary, overseeing the Office of the Corporate Secretary, serving as liaison between the CPB Board of Directors and staff.
Prior to joining CPB, she was Vice President of Government Relations for the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS). In this role, she was the primary education policy professional for the public television community and provided strategic counsel on pursuing Pre-K to postsecondary federal initiatives. Working with Members of Congress on Capitol Hill, Sanchez built bipartisan support for the Ready To Learn and Ready to Teach initiatives and worked aggressively to have these successfully included in the No Child Left Behind Act. Sanchez also worked to secure annual federal appropriations for both programs.
Prior to her work in public broadcasting, she was a special education teacher in Arlington, Virginia, and Highland, Indiana. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Indiana University and received the IU School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award for her exceptional contributions to civic service.