Dr. Saxton has over 25 years of educational and business expertise, with a focus on transformational leadership and corporate strategy. In her role as Chief Executive at Learning Models LC, Dr. Saxton is focused on increasing scale and quality for public and private entities; designing, building, and operating new schools and universities; and consulting to ministries and governmental institutions in the MENA region with initial activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Prior to her current role, Dr. Saxton was the Founding President of the American University of Bahrain (AUBH), where she built a first-of-its-kind campus and faculty corps to deliver a unique style of education in the emerging GCC market. She previously held senior roles for Laureate Education, serving as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Academic Officer, and Senior Vice President for Global Products and Services; and as SVP Innovation & Emerging Strategies and CEO of the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. In these positions Dr. Saxton was instrumental in the acquisition and expansion of campus locations, requiring extensive due diligence and regulatory negotiations, as well as the restructuring and transformation of institutions within Laureate Education’s larger corporate strategy.
Through her international entrepreneurial roles in both developed and emerging economies, she is seen as a unique combination of strategist, visionary, turnaround specialist, and innovator.
Dr. Saxton has two Ph.D.s, in Organization and Management, and Human Services/Psychology; a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business from the University of Liverpool; a Master of Science in Business Administration (M.S.B.A.) in Finance from Boston University; and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Wellesley College.
Dr. Saxton’s other notable positions include:
Chief Strategy & Development Officer, International Baccalaureate Organization
Dean of Students and Vice President Strategy & Product Development , Kaplan University
Founding Dean, School of Business & Technology, Capella University
