Penny Schwinn (born 1982) is an American educator and former Commissioner of Education for 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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. She was appointed by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Bill Lee on January 17, 2019, and was sworn in on February 1, 2019. She resigned in May 2023. She was nominated by President-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to serve as the

United States Deputy Secretary of Education The deputy secretary of education oversees and manages the development of policies in the United States Department of Education. The deputy secretary focuses primarily on K–12 education policy, such as No Child Left Behind, the High School Init ...

in January 2025.

Early life and education

Schwinn was born and raised in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. Her mother was an educator for low-income students in Sacramento for nearly 40 years. Many of her extended family are also educators. After graduating high school, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, then Master of Arts in Teaching from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, and her PhD in Education Policy from

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

Career

Schwinn began her career in education as a high school history and economics teacher in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. She also has been involved in education in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

and has worked in the private sector. She then served on the board of education for

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, California, Sacramento, which has been the List ...

. After being a principal and board member, she served as the Assistant Secretary of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. She later served as the Deputy Commissioner of Standards and Engagement, Deputy Commissioner of Special Populations and Monitoring, and Chief Deputy Commissioner of Academics at the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. In 2019, she left the agency, after being appointed by Governor Bill Lee to become the next Commissioner of the

Tennessee Department of Education The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is the state education agency of Tennessee. It is headquartered on the 9th floor of the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipaliti ...

. She was sworn in on February 1, 2019. On May 1, 2023, Schwinn announced she would be stepping down as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education on June 1, 2023. She was succeeded by Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds on July 1, 2023. On January 17 2025, President-elect

announced on

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that he had picked Schwinn to be his Deputy Secretary of Education.

Personal life

Schwinn is married to Paul Schwinn, who is also an educator and has worked with multiple educational institutions and advocacy groups. She has three children, two of whom are students in Tennessee public schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwinn, Penny Living people Educators from Tennessee State constitutional officers of Tennessee UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni 1982 births