Head of Policy and Operations

Orla O'Keeffe has been an SFUSD team member, an SFUSD parent, and a resident of San Francisco since 2001. During her tenure at SFUSD, Ms. O'Keeffe has served in multiple leadership roles and has helped develop policies and operationalize systems across a variety of student support domains, including student assignment, student transportation, wellness, student nutrition, and school portfolio planning.

In her current role as Head of Policy and Operations, Orla leads a number of departments, including the Educational Placement Center, Policy & Planning, Student Nutrition Services, and Transportation. She also co-sponsors the development and implementation of a variety of policies that support educators advance student learning, and she is a member of San Francisco’s Food Security Task Force. Ms. O'Keeffe is passionate about SFUSD's core value of standing with those most vulnerable in our community.

Prior to her work with SFUSD, Ms. O'Keeffe worked for the Chicago Public Schools for a couple of years. Before dedicating her career to public education, Ms. O'Keeffe worked in the private sector in Ireland, in Australia, and in Chicago where she also co-founded and managed a restaurant.

Ms. O'Keeffe has a Bachelor of Science in Communication Systems with a minor in Business from Northwestern University. Born and raised in Ireland, she loves to travel and has visited 28 countries—and counting!