Vilicia Cade-Lyles '88

Dr. Vilicia Cade-Lyles ’88 began her career serving in high-needs schools across the five boroughs of New York City, disrupting the school to prison pipeline with adjudicated youth as a case manager. She went on to teach at the notorious Boys & Girls High School in her hometown Brooklyn, New York. In 1993, she transitioned to becoming a high school history teacher and reading specialist. Soon after, she fell in love with learning, and then served in a variety of leadership roles—including community and parent involvement specialist, curriculum writer, academic assistant principal, and district-level turnaround administrator—later honing her executive leadership skills with Chicago Public Schools, Lindop School District, the College Board, and Christina School District. A hallmark of her career has been breaking barriers while serving as the first Black woman in multiple c-suite roles, including Chief Academic Officer in Sandusky City Schools, CEO and Superintendent of Capital School District, and President and CEO of Child Guidance Resource Centers. In every role, she built high-performing teams, forged vital partnerships, and drove transformative change to increase opportunities for children, families, educators, and underserved communities. Over the years, her results-driven leadership has produced remarkable outcomes in k-12, including raising graduation rates at Dover High School from 85% to 94%, quarterbacking North Dover Elementary School’s National Blue Ribbon designation, and supporting Sandusky High School’s Ohio Department of Education’s Momentum Award for two consecutive years for closing the achievement gaps among low income, minority, and special education students.

Dr. Cade-Lyles has secured millions in grants and fundraising to launch innovative learning programs, increasing college access for first-generation students, improving graduation rates, establishing trauma-informed wellness centers, and strengthening K–12 systems through strategic partnerships. Under her leadership, Capital School District became Delaware’s first district admitted to the National League of Innovative Schools, where she served on the Digital Promise Superintendent Advisory Board. She secured $6.9 million to launch three Verizon Innovative Learning Schools and was named a 2024 Google Fellow, one of only twelve superintendents nationwide.

Beyond her professional work, Dr. Cade-Lyles is deeply committed to volunteering in her community and engaging in philanthropy, serving on boards including BayHealth Hospital Foundation Women’s Leadership Council, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, United Way of Delaware & NJ, NAACP Delaware State Conference, Delaware Association for Black School Educators, and SUNY New Paltz Foundation. She has been a devoted member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. for nearly 40 years humbly edifying the values of scholarship, service, sisterhood, and finer womanhood. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Educational Advocacy Centennial Dove Award, the Phenomenal Woman Leader Award, Governor Carney’s Compassionate Champion Award, and the NAACP Educational Advocacy Award. Consequently, in 2023 her national acclaim was cemented when she was appointed to President Biden’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Excellence, Equity, and Economic Opportunities for Black Americans.

A published author and love-driven leader, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz, completed three master’s degrees, and received her doctorate from New York University. Dr. Cade-Lyles is committed to lifelong learning. From 2020- 2021 she served as a National Educational Policy Fellow at Cleveland State University.

Above all her accomplishments, she is most proud of being the mother to her beloved son, a proud graduate of an esteemed HBCU. She openly draws on her experiences as a parent and what would be good enough for her son as her moral compass in guiding her work with children, educators, and nonprofits. She places value on life’s journey using past failures and success as a formidable roadmap for uplifting humility, centering hope, and empowering others. Her powerful journey from being a ward of the state to being a presidential commissioner is compelling and illuminates her extraordinary capacity.

Driven by her passion for social justice and innovation, she founded Sankofa Solutions of Love Inc., to transcend current leadership paradigms and leverage partnerships to enact “a love-driven leadership paradigm” especially in service to under-resourced communities. Her quest to help build a brighter, more equitable future for all remains unshakeable.