James G. Cibulka
President 
Since the beginning of his presidency, Cibulka has focused on making accreditation a lever for change and reform in educator preparation to better meet urgent national P-12 needs. Under his leadership, the accreditation process focuses on moving educator preparation to excellence through continuous improvement and research-based transformation.

Cibulka has a long and distinguished record in higher education. Prior to his appointment as president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), he served as dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky from 2002 to 2008, where he also held academic appointments in two departments. While in Kentucky, Cibulka was appointed by the governor to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, and he served as chair of that body.

Cibulka started his career as an administrator for the Chicago Board of Education and as a teacher and administrator in the Model City Community Schools Program in Duluth, Minn. His first university appointment was at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he served for 23 years, establishing the Department of Community Education and directing the PhD program in urban education. Cibulka also served as the associate dean, chair, and professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Education.

Cibulka is the author of numerous books and scores of articles on education policy, administration, and community development. From 1992 to 1995, he also served as editor of the Educational Administration Quarterly. In 2006 he received the Stephen K. Bailey Award by the Politics of Education Association for “shaping the intellectual and research agendas of the field.”

Cibulka earned a BA from Harvard College, graduating magna cum laude, and a PhD from the University of Chicago.

Deborah B. Eldridge
Senior Vice President for Accreditation and Administration
In her role as senior vice president for accreditation and administration, Eldridge oversees all accreditation processes; program review; finance; human resources, information technology; administrative support; and event planning. Prior to coming to CAEP, Eldridge served as the dean of education at Lehman College of the City University of New York. While at Lehman, she was the principal investigator of an innovative, 5th-year clinical residency program funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) initiative. She has written dozens of articles on literacy and is the author of two books.

Mark LaCelle-Peterson
Senior Vice President for Engagement, Research, and Development
In his role as senior vice president for engagement, research, and development, LaCelle-Peterson oversees member and state relations; research and development; and communications and marketing. LaCelle-Peterson joined the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) as a staff auditor in 2008, becoming vice president with responsibility for day-to-day operations in 2009, and president in 2011. He served as a member of the Joint TEAC/NCATE team that designed the new Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). 

Prior to joining TEAC, LaCelle-Peterson held administrative posts in teacher education programs at public and private institutions of higher education in New York State, and served as a faculty member in the social foundations of education, teaching the history and philosophy of education; research methods; curriculum theory; and social, cultural, and linguistic foundations of education; as well as courses in humanities and early medieval literature (Anglo Saxon and Old Norse). He co-founded and directed a center for partnerships with urban schools, developed a transition-to-teaching program to provide highly qualified teachers for high-needs urban schools, and served on the applicant board for a community-based, two-way bilingual charter school. He has written on equity in assessment for English Language Learners, democratic teacher education, faculty development in higher education, and curriculum history.  

Mishaela Durán
Chief of Staff, CAEP Transition
As chief of staff of the CAEP transition, Durán builds capacity for the unification of NCATE and TEAC, staffs the Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting, and oversees special projects for the president. Prior to joining CAEP, Durán served as the interim executive director of the National PTA, leading the nation’s largest child advocacy association representing 5 million members, 50 state congresses, and 25,000 local chapters. Durán has worked on children’s policy issues for more than a decade on the federal, state, and local levels, concentrating on reforms in education, workforce development, child welfare, and juvenile justice. Durán brings a practitioner’s lens to her work, having worked as a public school teacher.