Age: 51

Current position: Chief accountability officer, Oklahoma City Public Schools (two years)

Experience: Executive director of federal programs (four years), acting director of Title I (two years), executive administrator for GEAR UP (three years), assistant director of magnet and specialty schools (two years) for Oklahoma City Public Schools, undergraduate admissions counselor at Oklahoma City University for two years

Education: A.A., City Colleges of Chicago (European Division); B.S., University of Maryland University College (European Division); M.A., Webster University; Ed.D., University of Oklahoma

About the candidate: The Detroit native is the oldest of three kids raised by a single mother – a no-nonsense woman who Ingram said refused to let poverty be an excuse. He served 22 years in the Air Force before retiring as a chief master sergeant. He took undergraduate courses while in the military and earned his bachelor’s degree after 10 years of study.

Ingram says he values precise planning and collaboration in decision-making. He’s a steady riser in a school district racked with turbulence (seven superintendents in the past 10 years). He was a 2007 fellow at The Broad Academy, which trains military and business leaders to lead urban school districts.

In Oklahoma City, as chief accountability officer, Ingram’s the chief of staff for the superintendent and oversees day-to-day operations. In his previous role as executive director of federal programs, he oversaw a $60 million budget.

His doctoral dissertation was a case study of No Child Left Behind in Oklahoma City Public Schools. He stresses that student achievement is the barometer by which to measure success. Ingram serves on the board of the Oklahoma City Youth Leadership Exchange, a program that teaches high school students how to be better community leaders through volunteer service.

He embraces diversity: Ingram is black, and Hispanics make up the largest ethnic group in the 40,000-student school district.

On achieving success: “I’m a planner at heart. I don’t do anything without planning. If you want success, you have to plan for it.”

Scott Fontaine, The News Tribune