A Yazoo City, Mississippi native and twenty-six-year educator, Dr. LaDonna Monson Gulley began her career as a 1992 Teach For America Corps member committed to making a difference in the lives of countless students across the country. Starting in Houston, Texas, Dr. Gulley taught fifth and second grades in Houston ISD. 

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She continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in East Baton Rouge Parish Schools teaching fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade special education self-contained and inclusion classes. She left the profession briefly for a stint in social work, working for the Parents As Teachers Program at New Concept Self-Development Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Returning to education, she has taught sixth, seventh, eighth, and collegiate levels for Dallas ISD, Mesquite ISD, and Dallas College. She spent the last twelve years as an administrator in Mesquite Independent School District at a top-performing elementary campus before assuming a newly created role, Director of Leadership and Empowerment in February 2021.  

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Her belief in “what’s best for kids,” while using equity to ensure that every student gets what he/she/they need and maintaining communication and transparency, has allowed her to propel her present community from an area where students don’t just survive but thrive. 

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Dr. Gulley values accountability and stewardship. These values drive her beliefs of transparency, trust, openness, and service. These values have also allowed her former campus to be recognized by her district and the state of Texas.  

 

She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Jackson State University. She later earned a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Southern A&M University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a Doctorate in Educational Policy and Leadership from Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas.  

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A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Dr. Monson Gulley is a daughter, sister, and aunt as well as a proud mom of two college-educated daughters. The empowerment of children and young people has always been at the forefront of her career. It is her ONE thing.