Jill Katherine Underly (born August 2, 1977) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

educator and school system administrator from Iowa County, Wisconsin. She is the

superintendent of public instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or U.S. territory, territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistan ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, elected in the 2021 general election. She previously served as an assistant director in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and served as superintendent of the Pecatonica Area School District.

Early life and career

Underly grew up in northwest Indiana, outside Chicago. She earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

in 1999, with a double-major in history and sociology. After earning her degree, she went to work as a high school social studies teacher at Frankfort High School and Munster High School, in Frankfort and

Munster, Indiana Munster is a suburban town in North Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is in the Chicago metropolitan area, approximately southeast of the Chicago Loop, and shares municipal boundaries with Hammond to the north, Highland to the ...

, respectively. While teaching, she pursued further education, and, in 2004, received her first master's degree in secondary education curriculum and instruction from

Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was a public university from 1969 to 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University system, Purdue University, of ...

. In 2005, Underly left Indiana and moved to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, where she continued her education at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and worked on the staff for Undergraduate Academic Services in the College of Letters & Sciences. In 2008, she earned her second master's degree and licensure in educational administration. In 2009, Underly was hired by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as an assistant director and education consultant, where she remained until 2014. During these years, she continued her education at the University of Wisconsin, and, in 2012, earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis. In 2014, Underly moved to Hollandale, Wisconsin, to become principal of Pecatonica Elementary School. The following year, the Pecatonica Area School Board selected her as school district administrator. During her term, Underly was outspoken for the interests of rural school districts.

Superintendent of public instruction

In May 2020, following the announcement that incumbent State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor would not seek election to a full four-year term, Underly announced her candidacy for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Underly topped a field of seven candidates in the February 2021

nonpartisan primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

, and went on to defeat former Brown Deer superintendent Deborah Kerr in the April general election. Underly received the endorsements of retired Republican state senator

Dale Schultz Dale W. Schultz (born June 12, 1953) is an American real estate broker and Republican politician from Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was the majority leader of the Wisconsin Senate during the 2005–2006 term, and served over 23 yea ...

, Democratic U.S. senator

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...

, U.S. representatives

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His former district is in western Wisconsin, anchored by La Cross ...

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congre ...

, and

Mark Pocan Mark William Pocan ( ; born August 14, 1964) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of t ...

, former Governor

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle Jr. (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Scott M ...

, and nearly every Democrat in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

. Her opponent, a proponent of voucher school expansion, was endorsed by former U.S. Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator and former professional basketball player who served as the 9th United States secretary of education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools ...

and Democratic state senator

Lena Taylor Lena C. Taylor (born July 25, 1966) is an American lawyer, judge, and former politician serving as a Wisconsin circuit courts, Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, since January 2024. She previously served 19 years as a Democratic Pa ...

. On April 1, 2025, she was re-elected to another term as state superintendent after successfully defeating Brittany Kinser.

Personal life and family

Underly and her husband John live in Hollandale, Wisconsin; they have two children.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Nonpartisan Primary, February 16, 2021 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 6, 2021

Early life and career

Superintendent of public instruction

Personal life and family

Electoral history

References

External links