Dr. Marguerita DeSander earned her Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership from the College of William and Mary and her J.D. from The Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Dr. DeSander's research interests include educational law, personnel administration in education, educational policy and reform initiatives.  She is the former assistant superintendent for human resources for Lincoln County (NC) schools, and executive director of human resources and coordinator of personnel for Williamsburg-James City County (VA) Public Schools. A former practicing attorney who specializes in employment-related legal matters, she has presented and published on the topics of teacher evaluation and merit pay, tenure teacher dismissal for incompetence, and the incongruence of federal legislation regarding public education. Currently, Dr. DeSander serves on the Board of Directors for the Consortium for Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation and is the president-elect of the organization for the 2011-12 year.