Danny Carlson serves as NAESP's Assistant Executive Director, Policy & Advocacy. Prior to joining NAESP, Danny was a policy analyst for the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices. In that role, he oversaw the Education Division’s K–12 human capital work, advancing policies to address principal challenges across the country. Danny previously served as an education advisor to a United States Senator and was responsible for advancing her K–12 education agenda. In that capacity, he crafted policy provisions included in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to improve principal and teacher recruitment and retention, address chronic absenteeism, and boost opportunities for STEM education.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), founded in 1921, is a professional organization serving elementary and middle school principals and other education leaders throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas.