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Leslie T. Thornton has been a director of CEC since December 2005. Ms. Thornton was formerly Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. During her nearly eight years at the Department of Education (DOE), Ms. Thornton served as the liaison between the Secretary and the White House on policy, political, ethics, personnel and other matters; supervised the higher education administrative appeals process for the Secretary; and helped implement President Clinton's education initiatives. In addition to her work at the DOE, Ms. Thornton founded the Educational Equity Institute and Capitol Education Fund, organizations dedicated to improving educational access and opportunity. She began her career as a trial attorney in the Washington D.C. Public Defender's Office. Ms. Thornton is currently a partner with the multi-service law firm of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky, LLP in Washington D.C. She holds a law degree from Georgetown University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Thornton has written extensively on education, law and politics, and is a frequent speaker on these topics. | 