NAGB Header Image

Dilhani Uswatte

Dilhani Uswatte
Current Position
Principal, Rocky Ridge Elementary School, Hoover, Ala.
Board Term
November 2022 - September 2025
Board Category
Elementary School Principal
Representative Board Activities
Member — Assessment Development Committee
Education
Ed.D. University of Alabama at Birmingham – Educational Leadership
M.Ed. University of Alabama at Birmingham – Educational Leadership
B.Ed. Queens University – Intermediate Education
B.S. Queens University – Biology

Dilhani Uswatte is the principal of Rocky Ridge Elementary School in Hoover, Ala. — a role she’s held since 2014. She has been an educator for more than 20 years, working previously as a math and science teacher, department chair, and assistant principal. Under her leadership at Rocky Ridge, the school earned international STEM accreditation, becoming the first school in the district and 11th in the state to do so.

Passionate about supporting other educators, Dr. Uswatte has launched both statewide and national teacher mentoring programs. Her distinguished career includes being inducted into the Alabama Teacher Hall of Fame, receiving the National Milken Education Award, and being named the 2019 Alabama Education Leader of the Year and 2020 National Distinguished Principal. Dr. Uswatte is also co-director of the National Milken Mentor Mentee program and a board member for the Alabama Association of Elementary School Administrators (AAESA).