Alisha Thomas Searcy is a transformational education leader, champion for students, educators and parents, and is not afraid to defy the odds. In fact, exceeding expectations remains a constant that has etched her legacy and defined her career as a leader. At the age of 23, Searcy made history as the first African American to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing residents of Cobb County —the third largest county in metro Atlanta — years later, Searcy’s righteous leadership continues to have a longstanding footprint in the region and Georgia state history. Searcy, elected to six terms in the Georgia House of Representatives, served on the Education, Appropriations and Health & Human Services committees. She coauthored the state’s Teacher and Leader Evaluation System, and authored the state intra-district transfer law, allowing parents to choose the best public school within their district for their students, regardless of zip code. Additionally, she coauthored the state’s constitutional amendment that created the State Charter Schools Commission; and was appointed by former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, to a bipartisan working group on K-12 education.
Her prowess as an education leader drove the success of her and her team as Superintendent of Schools at Ivy Preparatory Academies – a network of all-girls public schools of excellence. In this role, she initiated the transformation of the network’s operations, academic achievements and financial strengths. Her results-driven leadership led to a doubled, state performance score from 43 to 85 for Ivy Preparatory Academy’s Kirkwood campus. Her leadership outcomes had a far-reaching impact across the network that resonates to-date, including reversing the network’s teacher retention rate (from 25% to 75%), instituting Professional Development Days for students and creating a teacher and leader talent acquisition program.
Alisha T. Searcy is recognized as a renowned motivational speaker and thought leader in the areas of politics, nonprofits and education. She was featured as a subject-matter expert in major publications to include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CSPAN, Georgia Trend, Marie Claire, Ebony and Essence magazines.
After leaving office in 2014, Alisha continued her mission to improve educational outcomes for children and create an educational system where parents feel empowered and educators feel supported. She earned a master’s of education in Educational Leadership and matriculated through two Superintendents training programs, the prestigious Broad Superintendents Academy, and the Future Chiefs program. She also secured a Level 5 Georgia Superintendent Certificate from the Georgia Professional Standards. (expired in June 2020)
In 2022, Searcy returned to politics. Winning 57% of the vote in a four-way race, Searcy became the Democratic Nominee for State School Superintendent. In this historic win, she won all 159 counties in the state of Georgia.
Steadfast in her commitment to students, parents and educators, Alisha is now the CEO of her own education leadership consulting firm, AT Morgan Enterprises. She uses her unique background as a policy maker, practitioner, and nonprofit leader to work with schools, school districts, local and national education non-profit organizations to improve educational outcomes for students; mentor and support leaders and help create systems that meet the needs of students and their families. Her portfolio includes coaching board of education members and school leaders, serving as a school turnaround expert at the school level and using her public speaking skills as a keynote and panelists for numerous education focused organizations. While her roles have changed through her 20-year history in education, Alisha’s commitment has not. Her dedication to leveling the playing field for students and making sure leaders are equipped to lead continues.
Alisha holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a board member of the Joseph & Evelyn Lowery Center for Human Rights Institute and was recently appointed to the board of directors of Georgia First. She is married to Carlos Searcy, a recently retired Georgia State Trooper who served 26 years with the state of Georgia. They live in Cobb County with their three school aged children. Alisha is an education leader, wife, mother, child advocate and education thought leader. With a strong belief in living a well-rounded life, Alisha also carves out time to do the things that she loves.
In her spare time, she dances with a local mom’s hip-hop group. When she isn’t working in education or dancing with the Lady Diamonds, she’s usually on a plane traveling with her husband (and somet
