Robin Pulliam served as Denver Public Schools’ deputy chief of staff from mid-2020 until early 2022. In that role, she was highly regarded as a diligent, intelligent, and personable executive.
Her duties included overseeing bond and mill levy planning, as well as acting as the administration’s liaison to the Board of Education.
When Pulliam abruptly left the district in April 2022, it sent shockwaves through the organization and people who closely monitor DPS. Rumors ran rampant, but Pulliam never spoke publicly about what led to her departure. Boardhawk reached out to her on multiple occasional, but she politely demurred.
Now, however, as the school board seems poised to prematurely extend Superintendent Alex Marrero’s contract, Pulliam has decided the time is right to tell her story — on this podcast. She paints a troubling picture of a senior leadership team that operates like a boy’s club, where sexist comments are laughed off and women’s input is brushed aside.
Equally disturbing is her tale of rapid, disproportionate retribution leveled at her for bringing up an inappropriate comment allegedly uttered by Marrero in a cabinet meeting.
Though Pulliam’s story is now three years old, it seems highly relevant today, given the impending contract extension, and the fact that many of the same players remain in leadership roles.
