Mildred Otero is the President of Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), an organization focused on developing leaders to change the face and values of civic leadership in America. In this role, she ensures LEE members have high quality leadership development experiences across LEE’s core leadership pathways.

Before joining LEE, Mildred served as chief education counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, where she managed the Senate majority’s education agenda, and its policy development and strategy for children from cradle to career including early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, higher education, and the workforce.
Previously, Mildred served as a senior policy officer with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; senior advisor at the United States Department of State/United States Agency for International Development; senior policy advisor to then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) in the US Senate. Before her work in Washington, D.C., Mildred was a counselor for child victims of sexual and physical abuse at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

Mildred earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a Master of Social Work degree from the New York University Silver School of Social Work.

Mildred is a lifelong child advocate who believes in the innate ability of all children to thrive and is focused on changing laws, systems and structures to ensure children are given every opportunity to reach their full potential. She lives in Miami, FL with her family.
Connect with Mildred on LinkedIn or via her website (mildredotero.com) to stay updated on her latest insights, projects, and endeavors.