NJCA Staff Members

An accomplished business executive, nonprofit leader, government official and humanitarian, Byron V. Garrett is one of the most compelling and inspirational voices of our time. With a long-standing passion for equipping young people with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s ever-changing marketplace, Byron helms the National Job Corps Association, advocating for policy and funding to support over 100 centers across the US. Byron also serves as Chairman of the National Family Engagement Alliance (NFEA), a nonprofit dedicated to transforming education through meaningful family engagement. As a former Human Relations Commissioner for the City of Phoenix, Byron’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evidenced by the thought leadership he provides nationally.

As former Director of Educational Leadership & Policy for Microsoft, Byron championed the ConnectED initiative in partnership with the White House during the Obama Administration. Focused on impact and results rather than politics, Garrett served as the Co-Convenor of the Helping America’s Youth Initiative for the Bush Administration. Byron is an accomplished author who serves as a consulting author for Scholastic and curator of the Byron V. Garrett Social Emotional Learning Collection published by Scholastic, inspired by his bestselling book, The ABC’s of Life. The classroom library was created to provide young people with the skills needed to navigate society, making it a powerful, contemporary resource for today’s classroom.

Throughout his career, Byron has been a visionary agent of change promoting the idea that everyone has an obligation and opportunity to serve the best interests of our nation’s most precious resource— children. Byron served as a HuffPost blogger and columnist for Parenting as well as a member of their Editorial Advisory Board.

Lending his talents to prominent platforms to address equity and engage the broader public, Byron served as lead strategist and planner for NBC News’ Education Nation and produced the 1st Annual Building a Grad Nation Summit for the America’s Promise Alliance. Byron has served as CEO of the National PTA and the first Chief of Staff for the Office of Public Affairs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prior to this, Garrett served as National Program Leader for the National 4-H Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the program’s seven million participants and 90,000 clubs. Earlier in his career, Garrett spent a decade in Phoenix as an education advocate and community leader, serving as a Policy Advisor for Faith and Community Initiatives for then Governor Janet Napolitano (former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security). An education commissioner for the City of Phoenix, Byron is a former K-8 charter school principal and has been a guest on the TODAY show, MSNBC, Fox and the Dr. Phil Show, and featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and JET Magazine. Garrett was named to Ebony’s “Power 150,” an annual list of “The Most Influential Black Americans” and named by Black Enterprise in their Modern Man 100 list, while also being named to The Root 100.