Paul has advocated for K16 students’ educational access and success for over four decades. Paul served as Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education from 2007 to 2011, leading the overhaul of New Orleans’ public schools after Hurricane Katrina and achieving notable and sustainable gains in academic improvement statewide through a strong accountability system. He has worked for governors and state education leaders in Louisiana and in other states to build strong accountability systems to assure education funding is well spent.

Paul was General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. government operations of Airbus; he was appointed by President George W. Bush as General Counsel to NASA headquarters in Washington D.C.; he was Governor Mike Foster’s appointee to Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from 1996 to 2004. Paul has recently served as President of the University of Arizona Global Campus and COO/CFO of Loyola University New Orleans.

Paul has a Juris Doctor degree and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Loyola University New Orleans. He has served on several nonprofit education boards, including CenterPoint Education Solutions and The New Teacher Project (curriculum, testing and human capital solutions).