Dr. Alsbury is founder and president of Balanced Governance Solutions and creator of Balanced Governance.

 

He served for 24 years as a Professor of Educational Leadership at Iowa State, North Carolina State, Seattle Pacific, and Northwest Universities. He served 20 years as a former high school science teacher, principal, and district administrator and for 8 years as Director of the national UCEA Center for Research on the Superintendency and District Governance. He is currently adjunct professor and doctoral advisor/instructor of Organizational Leadership at Northwest University. 

 

Dr. Alsbury has been listed as the foremost expert on school governance by the Associated Press and consulted, trained, and evaluated boards on school governance issues in 12 countries and across the United States.

 

He has over 50 publications on school board and superintendent research. His book “The future of school board governance: Relevance and revelation” earned Dr. Alsbury the UCEA Culbertson Award. His 2015 book by Harvard Press entitled Improving local school board governance: A Balanced Governance approach introduces Dr. Alsbury’s Balanced Governance™ model.

 

The Balanced Governance™ model is unique amongst school governance models, in that it is developed from 50 years of research on exemplary school boards and the findings from the only national studies of school board members; both conducted by Dr. Alsbury. The Balanced Governance™ model has been adopted by both small and large school districts and used as a statewide model in several states.

Dr. Miles is a seasoned education leader with over two decades of experience spanning early childhood education, district administration, and statewide board development. She began her career in the classroom, specializing in early childhood education, before moving into district leadership as a board administrative professional. From there, she served as Director of the Charter Schools Program at Portland Public Schools in Oregon for eight years, leading oversight, evaluation, and strategic support for the state’s largest charter portfolio.

 

Since 2016, Kristen has been with the Oregon School Boards Association, where she currently serves as Director of Board Development. In this role, she supports school boards across the state through training, facilitation, and governance consulting, with a focus on aligning board practices to student outcomes. Kristen has presented at national conferences, led statewide legislative work groups, and developed evaluation tools for boards, districts, and charter schools across Oregon.

 

Kristen holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Vocal Performance from the University of Oregon, a Master of Public Administration from Portland State University, and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Northwest University. Her doctoral research focused on the connection between board governance and its impact on superintendent leadership—an area she remains passionate about. She believes deeply that strong board governance is a critical lever for student success.