Dr. Bill Coats • Chief Executive Officer

William (Bill) Coats, Ph.D., has worked to improve public education throughout his career as a school superintendent, university professor, foundation director and now Chief Executive Officer of The Leona Group, L.L.C.

As superintendent of public school districts across the nation, he worked within the system to allow parents freedom and choice within the schools, empower teachers and staff, and promote the idea that all children can learn. Bill has worked with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as coordinator for youth programs, and as public schools superintendent in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Anchorage, Alaska; Grosse Pointe, Michigan; and Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was chairman of the Department of Educational Leadership at Western Michigan University and served as full professor in the College of Education at the University of Michigan.

Bill holds a master's degree in educational psychology, and a doctorate in research design and data analysis in education from the University of Michigan. He has served as a consultant for educational systems and businesses and has published extensively in journals, trade publications and newspapers.