Sarah Kendall Hughes, Convener/Chair

Sarah Kendall Hughes
Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE)

Sarah Kendall Hughes brings more than a decade of education and political leadership to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, and she currently owns her own consulting firm.  Prior to starting her own firm, Commissioner Hughes was Senator Bennet’s Deputy Chief of Staff for nearly a decade, responsible for the development and strategic implementation of a statewide agenda.  Passionate about quality public school education, Hughes has spent her professional and volunteer capacity working to improve public education for all students. Commissioner Hughes served as Chief of Staff at Denver Public Schools (DPS) from 2005 to 2009. Among many accomplishments, she helped create and implement a reform agenda to help turn the district around after years of budget cuts and falling test scores. She also worked with then-Superintendent Bennet and the executive team to transform the administrative hub of DPS from a one-size- fits-all, centralized enterprise to a central office that worked in support of schools, principals, and teachers by attempting to push decision-making to principals and schools themselves. She serves as President of the Board of Directors of a local Charter school and has worked as a classroom teacher at various points in her career. Hughes has been committed to public service throughout her career. She served as Deputy Chief of Staff for then-Mayor John Hickenlooper’s first mayoral term in the City and County of Denver. She was involved in all aspects of Hickenlooper’s reform agenda to bring common sense solutions to the challenges facing the city. She also served as Deputy Director for Mayor Hickenlooper’s Transition team.  She now lives in Edwards, Colorado with her husband and three children.