Greensboro, N.C. – Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley and Guilford County Board of Education Chair Deena Hayes-Greene are part of the 2023 class of Outstanding Women in Business Honorees.

The annual award, given by the Triad Business Journal, recognizes extraordinary businesswomen for their impact on their professions, industries and communities. This year’s class has 26 women who will be honored.

Oakley was recognized for her leadership of Guilford County Schools (GCS), the third-largest school district in the state, a district that serves more than 68,000 students and 10,000 employees. Oakley is also responsible for maintaining over 12 million square feet of buildings and 3,000 acres of property.

Throughout her tenure as an educator, Oakley has been an advocate for equity and a champion for ensuring that GCS teachers have access to high-quality instructional resources and professional learning opportunities to help them improve instruction for students across elementary, middle and high schools.

“I am honored to receive this recognition and to be in a class with so many inspirational and influential women,” Oakley said. “Guilford County Schools set me on a path for success from the moment I entered Guilford Primary School, and it is a privilege to lead such an amazing and innovative district.”

Following her appointment as superintendent, Oakley launched Better Together, a series of community conversations to inform the district’s new strategic direction, hosting more than 150 town halls and meetings attended by over 5,000 stakeholders.

During Oakley’s first 150 days as superintendent, GCS expanded learning recovery efforts, which included providing 100,000 more high dosage tutoring sessions to 8,617 students compared to prior years. Oakley also secured a $14.8 million federal grant to expand mental health services to students across the district and deployed 12 new strategies to strengthen the school safety infrastructure to keep students and staff safe. 

Guilford County School Board Chair Deena Hayes-Green is also being inducted into the 2023 class.

Elected to the Board of Education in 2002, Hayes is the county’s first female and first female African American chairperson. Throughout her two decades of service to the board, she has exemplified her commitment to eradicating gaps in access and achievement for students by advocating for policy changes and funding opportunities that will improve the lives of all students.

In 2019, Chairperson Hayes received the Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award from The National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of Education.

Hayes is the co-founder and managing director of Racial Equity Institute LLC. The business offers training and consulting programs designed to help individuals, organizations and communities grow their understanding and analysis of structural racism and its cultural and historical roots.

Triad Business Journal will celebrate the honorees at Grandover Resort and Conference Center on April 26 at 5:30 p.m.

About Guilford County Schools 

Guilford County Schools, the third largest school district in North Carolina and among the largest of more than 14,000 in the United States, serves nearly 70,000 PK-12 students at 126 schools. With approximately 9,800 employees, GCS works in partnership with parents, businesses, colleges and the community to deliver an education that connects student interests and skills with the careers and economy of our future here and around the world. We provide educational choices to meet individual student needs in a culturally diverse citizenship and new opportunities to help our students grow. For more information, visit the district’s website at www.gcsnc.com.