BIOGRAPHY
Russell W. Booker, Ph.D., CDE
Dr. Russell W. Booker believes our greatest hope for the future is to inspire and equip our children for meaningful lives of leadership and service.
Dr. Booker received his bachelor’s degree in Education from Wingate University and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He served as Superintendent of Spartanburg County School District Seven for ten years until his retirement in 2020.
Lauded as a values-based leader and a champion for equity and education, Dr. Booker began his tenure as Superintendent of Spartanburg County School District Seven in July 2010. He is credited with eliminating the District’s digital divide and leading the way for peer organizations in South Carolina to do the same. As Superintendent, he quickly propelled the District into the national spotlight as a model for innovative learning. In 2015, Dr. Booker joined the nation’s elite League of Innovative Schools, which was created by Congress to recognize trailblazers in learning and leadership. That same year, District Seven was one of only 300 educational institutions in the world to be honored as an Apple Distinguished Program for leveraging technology to provide exemplary learning environments that improve student outcomes.
During his 28-year career in education, Dr. Booker has garnered a wide range of regional, state, and national distinctions. In 2015, he was named South Carolina Superintendent of the Year by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) and was also named Superintendent of the Year by the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association. He is a past president of SCASA’s Superintendents’ Division. In 2009, he was recognized by the Career and Technical Education Administrators as the South Carolina Superintendent of the Year.
Dr. Booker is a South Carolina Liberty Fellow, a graduate of the Diversity Leaders Initiative through the Riley Institute, and a participant of the Racial Equity Institute. In 2013, the Urban League of the Upstate presented him with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Humanitarian Award. In 2016, he received the Heritage Committee Award from the Spartanburg African American Heritage Committee. Known for his warm smile and ready humor, he is a frequent speaker throughout the country.
He and his wife, Sheryl, are active in the Spartanburg community. They have been married for 25 years and are the proud parents of two sons, Grant (US Naval Academy Class of ’23), and Maxwell (Harvard College Class of ’26). The Bookers are members of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and reside on the Eastside of Spartanburg County.
Dr. Booker and Sheryl founded One Acorn, an agency that helps organizations, individuals, and communities fulfill the potential within through enlightened, authentic, values-based leadership. One Acorn provides training for educational leaders, organizational management expertise, place-based strategies for school systems and communities, and customized speaking engagements – all centered on the importance of collective impact. Just as an acorn contains a mighty oak, One Acorn believes that everyone holds powerful potential.
BOARDS (PAST & PRESENT)
African American Leadership Society – United Way (2019-Present)
uwpiedmont.org
American Association of School Administrators Governing Board (2015-Present)
aasa.org
Mary Black Foundation Board of Directors (2020-Present)
maryblackfoundation.org
Northside Advisory Committee (2015-Present)
cityofspartanburg.org/northside-initiative
Piedmont Club Board (2018-2023)
thepiedmontclub.org
Purpose Built Communities Board of Directors (2023-Present)
https://purposebuiltcommunities.org
Real Men are Teachers – USC Upstate (2017-Present)
uscupstate.edu/academics
South Carolina Liberty Fellowship – Board of Directors (2014 – Present)
libertyfellowshipsc.org
SC Association of School Administrators Executive Committee – President of Superintendent Division (2016)
scasa.org
South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (2022-2023)
Spartanburg Academic Movement Board of Directors (2009 – 2020)
learnwithsam.org
Spartanburg Commission of Higher Education (2012-2017)
uscupstate.edu/about-the-university
Spartanburg Regional Foundation Board of Directors (2019-Present)
regionalfoundation.com
Spartanburg Village Network (2014-2018)
StriveTogether Board of Directors (2018-Present), Board Chairperson
strivetogether.org
United Way of the Piedmont – (2009-2016)
uwpiedmont.org
Wingate University Board of Trustees (2004 – Present), Chair of Mission and Purpose
wingate.edu
AFFILIATIONS
Downtown Rotary Club of Spartanburg
spartanburgrotary.com
Diversity Leaders Initiative through the Riley Institute
riley.furman.edu/diversity/initiatives
Mount Moriah Baptist Church
mtmoriahbaptist.net
Southside Lions Club of Spartanburg
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Spartanburg Alumni Chapter Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
kappaalphapsi1911.com