Bettye W. Topps has extensive experience as an educator, professional developer, and educational leadership and management consultant. She provides training, leadership coaching, program development and related consultant services to local schools, school districts, universities, associations and foundations. For the past fifteen years, she has focused her energies on principal preparation, assessment and development as well as change management, organizational development and whole school reform. Her areas of strength include strategic thinking and planning, group facilitation and motivation, consensus building, problem analysis and solution generation, and communication.

As an educator, Mrs. Topps served in a variety of positions that made it possible to respond to the needs of students at the local school and at the most senior management levels of the District of Columbia Public School System. These positions include: middle level classroom teacher; K- 12 peer instructional support teacher; high school assistant principal and principal; Director, Leadership Development and Training; Director of the DC-NASSP Leadership Assessment and Development Center, Executive Director, Center for Educational Change; Executive Assistant to the Superintendent; and Senior Policy to the Superintendent/CEO. She has served as curriculum developer for WETA Public Television (JUBA Series), Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School’s Department of Educational Administration at Trinity College, and lead consultant and program developer for the Institute for Urban School Leadership at The University of the District of Columbia.

Mrs. Topps has received many honors and awards for outstanding service in education including the “Outstanding Principal Award” from the DC Council on Administrative Women in Education, the Board of Senior High School Principals, and the District of Columbia Librarians Association. She is the recipient of the coveted “Outstanding Service Award” from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Knoxville College, Knoxville, TN and a Master of Arts from the George Washington University, Washington, DC and has earned more than sixty additional graduate credit hours in educational administration, supervision and leadership.


To request information on Bettye Topps, e-mail btopps@educationspeakersgroup.com