Wanda Paul

COO

Houston ISD

Wanda Paul, a veteran business operations officer and Houston native, currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Houston Independent School District. It is the largest school district in the state of Texas. She has previously served as the Chief Operating Officer for Palm Beach County Schools, Florida and the Dallas Independent School District.

As HISD’s Chief Operating Officer, Wanda leads more than 5,000 employees from key public-facing departments including transportation, nutrition, construction, and facilities. Her oversight includes a fleet of more than 1,000 buses, a food service operation that serves thousands of meals daily, a $2.1 billion bond construction program, and maintenance of over 31 million square feet of facility space in more than 300 buildings spread out over 300 square miles.  

Wanda earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from University of Texas in 1986, a Master of Education from National-Louis University in 1994, and a Master of Business Administration from University of St. Thomas in 2005. She also graduated from the Atlantic’s National Superintendent’s Academy in 2019. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin.