Denver Public Schools Creates Ombuds Office

Sharon R. Bailey has been named the first Ombudsperson for the large public school system in Colorado. Bailey will serve only employees, currently about 15,000, who work at more than 200 schools. She comes to the position after five years as the manager of the district's diversity, equity, and inclusion program. The new DPS Office of the Ombudsperson practices to IOA standards. 

Bailey brings a wealth of experience in education and municipal government. From 1988-1995, she served as an elected member of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Later, she was a policy associate for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education and she an executive in the Office of the Auditor in the City and County of Denver. Bailey has held leadership positions with International Black Women’s Congress, the Colorado Black Round Table, the Colorado Association of School Boards, National Organization for Black Elected Officials, and others. She graduated from Princeton University and earned her PhD from the University of Colorado Denver. (DPS Ombuds; Linkedin.)