As a member of Governor Bentley's Cabinet, Secretary Ross oversees the Children's Policy Councils, the Children First Trust Fund, and the Head Start Collaboration Office. She is a founding member of the Office of School Readiness Advisory Board and Evaluation Task Force and further influenced the expansion of state pre-K by establishing one of the earliest Office of School Readiness Pre-K programs (Union Grove, Marshall County).

In her prior work with public school systems, Mrs. Ross has developed, directed and evaluated programs that impacted Alabama's children from birth until graduation and secured more than $7.5 million in grant funds to offer quality services to low income and at-risk children and families.

Secretary Ross holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education Leadership from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She and her husband Carey reside in Guntersville and Montgomery. She has two sons, John (Allison) and Wright (Aubrey), and twin grandchildren.