Linda E. McMahon was sworn in as the 13th United States Secretary of Education on March 3, 2025, appointed by President Donald J. Trump. A businesswoman, education policy leader, and public servant, Secretary McMahon has decades of experience as a job creator and advocate for expanding educational opportunities. Born in North Carolina, Secretary McMahon graduated from East Carolina University in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in French. Her college aspirations to become a schoolteacher reflect her lifelong interest in education, which she later pursued through educational administration and advocacy. She served on the Connecticut State Board of Education, advocating for policies to empower teachers and help students excel, and on the Board of Trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Secretary McMahon pursued a career in business as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a global company she helped grow from a regional operation into a publicly traded, multibillion-dollar enterprise. Thanks to her leadership, WWE created thousands of American jobs and sparked McMahon’s passion for Career and Technical Education (CTE). Throughout her career in business and advocacy, she has firmly held that skills-based career preparation is the backbone of the American economy and the path to the American Dream for every citizen. McMahon also sought to bring her focus on education and economic opportunity to the national stage through two runs for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. In her 2010 and 2012 campaigns, she emphasized the need for options like charter schools to better serve students. Her campaigns highlighted a continued commitment to education reform, including support for teacher autonomy and practical, job-focused learning—priorities she carried into her later roles in public service. Before her appointment as Secretary of Education, McMahon served as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 2017 to 2019 during President Trump’s first term. In that role, she oversaw support for small businesses nationwide, contributing to disaster relief, entrepreneurial development programs, and the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers, a public-private initiative that created over 16 million education and training opportunities for American students and workers. Following her time at SBA, she chaired the America First Policy Institute, a think tank focused on advancing policy solutions, including education reforms centered on parental empowerment, school choice, and accountability in higher education. She also served as co-chair of President Trump’s 2024 transition team, playing a key role in staffing and policy for his second-term administration. A longtime advocate for education and workforce development, Secretary McMahon has emphasized the importance of aligning education with economic opportunity. Her priorities include expanding school choice, empowering teachers to teach basic subjects and skills, and returning education oversight to the states. Secretary McMahon calls Connecticut home. She has two children, Shane and Stephanie, and six grandchildren who are all students.