Meet the Superintendent
Dr. Gabriella Blakey is the superintendent of New Mexico's largest school district.
As superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools, Dr. Gabriella Blakey is leading the district in its ambitious new strategic plan to improve academic outcomes for 68,000 students. She oversees more than 140 schools, leads 12,000 employees, and collaborates with students, families, educators, support staff, elected officials, community members, and union partners to create opportunities for all students.
She wants every child to graduate with the skills, attributes, and knowledge to achieve their future goals.
Dr. Blakey is committed to listening, responding, leading, and delivering.
About Superintendent Blakey
Dr. Gabriella Durán Blakey assumed the role of superintendent for Albuquerque Public Schools on July 1, 2024. She was chosen unanimously for the position by the APS Board of Education after an extensive nationwide search and a well-regarded public engagement process.
Dr. Blakey grew up in Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights, the daughter of a nurse and a longtime educator who instilled in their three children the value of being of service to others.
A collaborative leader, Dr. Blakey has spent her career working to improve outcomes for children and investing her time in organizations and initiatives that build successful communities. She is a staunch advocate for getting more women into leadership roles.
Dr. Blakey has held numerous leadership positions at APS, including acting Superintendent, Chief Operations Officer, and Associate Superintendent.
During the pandemic, she led district initiatives for COVID-19 safety protocols in schools, coordinated food distribution of over a million meals to the community, worked with the city’s Emergency Management Department and the state Department of Health to set up community vaccination sites, and played a key role in the reopening of all 143 APS schools.
More recently, she helped write the Emerging Stronger strategic plan that serves as a roadmap for how APS will meet its five-year goals of boosting literacy and math proficiency, improving post-secondary readiness, and ensuring that students graduate with the skills, mindsets, and habits they will need to be successful in life. During her first year as superintendent, she helped establish the norms that are driving the district’s work on the goals, including visiting more than 100 APS schools and creating a variety of advisory committees that include students, parents, the business community and district teachers.
Dr. Blakey has worked at APS for more than 20 years, starting as a social studies and English Language Learner teacher at Highland High and Albuquerque Evening School and then serving as an assistant principal and principal.
She also served as assistant superintendent for curriculum and professional development at Santa Fe Public Schools and was the founder and executive director of Health Leadership High School, an Albuquerque charter school offering project-based learning for disenfranchised high school students.
She earned her doctorate of education and Master of Arts in educational leadership from the University of New Mexico and holds a Bachelor of Science in secondary education from New Mexico State University.
Dr. Blakey is an accomplished violinist who plays for the Symphony Orchestra of Albuquerque and is a member of the boards of Explora Children’s Science Museum, United Way of Central New Mexico, and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program. Her husband, Paul Blakey, is also an educator and a professional musician.