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[[Category:Strayer University alumni]]
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[[Category:American politicians convicted of corruption]]
[[Category:Puerto Rico politicians convicted of crimes]]

Revision as of 12:05, 3 August 2023

Julia Keleher
40th Puerto Rico Secretary of Education
In office
January 2, 2017 – April 1, 2019
Preceded byRafael Román Meléndez
Succeeded byEligio Hernandez
Personal details
Born
Julia Beatrice Keleher

(1974-11-15) November 15, 1974 (age 49)
South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (B.A., M.S.Ed.)
Strayer University (M.B.A.)
University of Delaware (Ed.D.)

Julia Beatrice Keleher (born November 15, 1974) is an American educator, entrepreneur, author and speaker. She gained notoriety while serving as the Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) from 2017 to 2019.

As the Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Education during hurricane Maria in 2017, Keleher argued the hurricane provided Puerto Rico with an opportunity to reform the public school system, citing comparable changes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.[1]

Keleher had been the subject of intense public criticism as a result of closing over 450 schools in Puerto Rico.[2][3]. During her mandate, she was involved in a scheme involving conspiracies to commit fraud, to which she pleaded guilty in June 0f 2021. Julia Keleher is a convicted felon. [4][5]

Puerto Rico Secretary of Education

On December 28, 2016, Keleher was appointed Puerto Rico Secretary of Education by Governor-elect Ricardo Rosselló.[6] In her new role, Keleher said her goals were to transform the K-12 educational system by decentralizing the system, where previously all of the decision-making was held with the Office of the Secretary. She instituted seven Local Education Agency (LEA) districts, located in San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas, Humacao, Ponce, Arecibo and Mayagüez, with delegating authority, local decision-making, accountability and new structures. Keleher authored and led the implementation of Law 85, Puerto Rico’s Education Reform Bill which, among other things, established per pupil funding requirements, created new workforce development programs and authorized charter schools.[7]


Keleher’s efforts to reform public education in Puerto Rico have been widely recognized.[8] Keleher has been recognized by two Excellence in Government programs (2010, 2012),[9] named Outstanding Professor of Project Management (2014) at George Washington University,[10] identified as an Extraordinary Changemaker (2017),[11] and awarded the Leadership Award for Valor in Crisis (2018). She has made appearances on TODAY, PBS NewsHour, C-SPAN[12] and many other national TV programs, and been published across leading trade, academic, and mainstream publications.

Hurricane Maria

On September 20, 2017, Puerto Rico was hit by the most devastating hurricane in 100 years. Hurricane Maria made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane and crossed the island from southeast to north, causing a huge amount of physical and emotional devastation and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The hurricane left 95% of the island without communications, food, water and medical care, and all 3.4 million residents lost electrical power.

Like everything else on the island, schools were damaged and shuttered. A total of 164 schools were used as shelters for 9,931 people as a huge number of homes had been completely destroyed. Many of the schools that were not used as shelters were severely damaged by the hurricane, and an estimated 44 schools would never reopen.

On October 23, 2017, 33 days after the storm, the PRDE re-opened 152 schools in the regions of San Juan and Mayagüez. The department was then able to open more schools, starting on a weekly basis and then on a daily basis. As of November 13, 2017, a total of 755 schools had been re-opened, many of them without power but with running water. Keleher had first estimated that 80% of the schools would reopen by mid-November; it turned out that a total of 932 schools (84%) had reopened by November 16. The PRDE adjusted the school calendar so that students would be able to complete the 2017–2018 academic year.

Keleher argued the hurricane provided Puerto Rico with an opportunity to reform the public school system, citing comparable changes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.[13]

On November 8, 2017, US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló, and Secretary Julia Keleher, paid a joint visit to the Loaiza Cordero School in the Santurce district of San Juan. Secretary DeVos announced that $2 million dollars in federal funds would be awarded by the ED to aid in the recovery of the schools.[14] Keleher allocated these funds to the purchase of textbooks, classroom materials, computers, the creation of STEM labs and various teacher professional development efforts.[15]

Federal charges

On July 10, 2019, Keleher was arrested in Washington D.C. by the FBI and accused of conspiracy and wire fraud.[16][17] Legal weaknesses[18] in these charges led the prosecution to supersede the original indictment[19] 13 months later – and present an entirely new theory of the crimes.[20] On January 14, 2020, Keleher was again indicted by the FBI on honest services fraud charges.[21] Specifically, it is alleged that Keleher used her position to exchange 1,034 square feet of a public school in Santurce to a private company in exchange for an apartment in the Ciudadela apartment complex in San Juan.[21] The widening of a road had been approved by the cognizant agencies back in 2003, years before Keleher began working in Puerto Rico.[22]

Keleher filed various motions to dismiss in both cases and maintained her innocence.[23][24] These motions were rejected and Keleher's trial was set to start in February 2021.[25]Keleher submitted Motions to Change Venue, which was based on the overwhelmingly negative and sensationalized media coverage the case had received.  Keleher had been the subject of intense public criticism as a result of closing over 450 schools.[26][27] She was physically attacked by a mob of protestors outside the federal courthouse in San Juan.[28] These motions were also denied.[29]

On June 8, 2021, Keleher pled guilty before Federal Judge Francisco Besosa for two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud. The plea agreement with US Department of Justice prosecutors included six months in prison, and a year under house arrest.[30] Some argued that taking a plea was Keleher's best option.[31] On December 17, 2021, Keleher was officially sentenced to six months in prison and a year under house arrest and a fine of $21,000.[32] As there was no loss to the government, she was not required to pay restitution. Nonetheless Julia Keleher is a convicted felon. [33][34]

Incarceration

Keleher served her 6-month sentence at Federal Prison Camp Alderson, in West Virginia, the same prison where Martha Stewart and Lolita Lebron, the Puerto Rican nationalist[35] served time. While at Alderson, Keleher worked as a teacher's aide and taught Adult Basic Education classes. She also taught English as a Second Language classes to Spanish-speaking women from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Keleher volunteered in the law library and assisted women with legal research. Recognizing the need to assist incarcerated women access legal support led her to pursue her Paralegal Certificate.

Although Keleher was eligible for early release based on Earned Time Credits under the First Step Act, she was required to serve the entire sentence.

Since her release in 2022, Keleher has been an active advocate for criminal legal reform.[36] Her professional work includes designing workforce development programs for returning citizens and teaching criminal justice courses. She is a Smart Justice Ambassador with the ACLU and works on issues related to probation reform, expungement and police accountability. She provides pro bono support to the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network’s Know Your Rights national voting rights initiative. She also writes on criminal justice reform topics.

Early life, education and career

Keleher grew up as an only child in an Italian community in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School[37] in 1992. Keleher earned her BA in Political Science (1996) and her Master's in Psychological Services (1998) from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (2007) from the University of Delaware and received her Master of Business Administration from Strayer University in 2013. She is a certified Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute (2009) and is certified in Strategic Decision Making and Risk Management from Stanford University.[38]

From 2000 to 2007, Keleher worked as a guidance counselor, middle school educator, school administrator and assistant to the Superintendent prior to moving to Washington, DC. [39]

US Department of Education

From 2007 to 2010, Keleher worked for the United States Department of Education (ED) as a program manager for Puerto Rico Technical Assistance Leader,Puerto Rico Technical Assistance Leader where successfully helped the Puerto Rico Department of Education satisfy the Title I Compliance Agreement.[40]  Keleher was promoted management in the USED’s Risk Management service, where she operationalized and executed a strategy for increasing the department’s capacity to mitigate risk in the grant portfolio. She co-authored a publication for IBM’s Center for the Business of Government in 2015.[41]

Keleher & Associates, LLC

In 2009, Keleher founded Keleher & Associates, in Washington, D.C., a planning and project management firm. In 2009, Keleher founded Keleher & Associates, in Washington, D.C., a planning and project management firm. She began working full time at Keleher & Associates after leaving the US Department of Education. The firm specialized strategic planning, project management and performance evaluation services to states, local school districts, nonprofits and for-profit entities around the country.[42]

On August 8, 2016, the firm obtained a contract with the PRDE for $231,030 dollars; the contract was valid until June 30, 2017.[6] Keleher sold the firm upon her appointment as Secretary of Education in Puerto Rico.

References

  1. ^ Keleher, Julia [@SecEducacionPR] (October 26, 2017). "Sharing info on Katrina as a point of reference; we should not underestimate the damage or the opportunity to create new, better schools" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (June 2018). "New York Times".
  3. ^ "New York Times". September 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "Education Next".
  5. ^ "Miami Herald".
  6. ^ a b "¿De dónde salió la designada secretaria de Educación? [Where did the designated Secretary of Education come from?]". Primera Hora (in Spanish). December 28, 2016. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "Reuters".
  8. ^ "Storms and Reforms". The Pennsylvania Gazette. April 23, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  9. ^ "EIG".
  10. ^ "The Hatchet". pp. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2017/02/22/business-school-adjunct-named-puerto-rico-education-secretary/.
  11. ^ "The 74".
  12. ^ "CSPAn".
  13. ^ Keleher, Julia [@SecEducacionPR] (October 26, 2017). "Sharing info on Katrina as a point of reference; we should not underestimate the damage or the opportunity to create new, better schools" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Keierleber, Mark (November 8, 2017). "DeVos Pledges $2 Million in Federal Money to Help Rebuild Puerto Rico's Storm-Wrecked Schools". Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "Metro PR".
  16. ^ "Así fue la dramática entrada de Julia Keleher al Tribunal Federal [This was the dramatic entrance by Julia Keleher into the Federal Courthouse]". Primera Hora (in Spanish). July 16, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  17. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (July 10, 2019). "Puerto Rico Ex-Officials Accused of Steering $15.5 Million in Contracts to Consultants". The New York Times.
  18. ^ "Amicus Brief" (PDF).
  19. ^ "Noticel" (PDF).
  20. ^ "El Nuevo Dia".
  21. ^ a b "Former education secretary in Puerto Rico indicted in bribery and fraud scheme". miamiherald.
  22. ^ "Plan de Santurce" (PDF).
  23. ^ Serrano, Oscar J. "Keleher pide desestimación de caso basándose en nuevo precedente del Supremo federal". www.noticel.com.
  24. ^ "Se levantan dudas sobre la nueva acusación contra Keleher". www.noticel.com.
  25. ^ Aronoff 2021, p. 313.
  26. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (June 2018). "New York Times".
  27. ^ "New York Times". September 12, 2019.
  28. ^ "Noticel".
  29. ^ "CaseText".
  30. ^ "Julia Keleher se declara culpable por corrupción ante el Tribunal Federal [Julia Keleher pleads guilty for corruption in Federal Court]". Metro (in Spanish). June 8, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  31. ^ "El Nuevo Dia".
  32. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (December 18, 2021). "Former Puerto Rico Education Secretary Is Sentenced to Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  33. ^ "Education Next".
  34. ^ "Miami Herald".
  35. ^ Martin, Douglas (August 3, 2010). "New York Times".
  36. ^ "Philadelphia Inquirer".
  37. ^ "Storms and Reforms". April 23, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  38. ^ "Stanford University".
  39. ^ "74 Million". August 20, 2019.
  40. ^ "Federal Register".
  41. ^ "IBM Risk Management" (PDF).
  42. ^ "Primera Hora". December 28, 2016.

Sources

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