Cordelia Tullous is the executive director of Step Up in Chicago and Dallas. She is responsible for implementing Step Up's mission to propel girls from under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential. To realize this vision, she oversees the organization's regional fundraising, operations, staff, communications, local board and external relations.
Prior to Step Up, Cordelia was the executive director, Southeast Region for Leading Educators. Leading Educators partners with schools and districts to help highly effective teachers develop the leadership skills they need to successfully transition from leading students to leading their peers. Under her leadership, she managed operations in New Orleans, Memphis and the expansion to Baton Rouge.
Prior to Leading Educators where Cordelia served as the VP, human capital before becoming executive director, she was the director of human resources for KIPP New Orleans Schools and a 2013 cohort member of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, a program that places professionals into management roles in carefully selected education organizations. She has spent a significant portion of career in the human capital arena, clerking for an employment law firm and working as a Human Capital Consulting Manager with Accenture.
Cordelia is a proud Dallasite and is very involved with several community organizations including The Links Incorporated, Mid-Cities (TX) Chapter, Junior League of Dallas, and Leukemia Texas. She also sits on the Board for New Leaders Council-Dallas Chapter and is a member of Leadership North Texas, Class 9.
Cordelia holds a B.A. in political science with a minor in management and organization from Spelman College and is an active member of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College. In addition, she holds a doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center and a masters of education in Educational Leadership from the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems.
