Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Jacob Oliva as secretary for the Arkansas Department of Education in January 2023. The State Board of Education also selected Oliva as commissioner of ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. 

Prior to being named secretary and commissioner, Oliva served in numerous senior leadership roles at the Florida Department of Education, including interim commissioner. In this role, he supported more than 2.8 million students in approximately 3,600 Florida public schools.

Oliva is a graduate of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. He began his educational career more than two decades ago as an elementary teacher for students with special needs. He later served as a principal at both the elementary and high school levels and as a superintendent at Flagler County Schools.