Former DCPS chancellor Kaya Henderson is featured in a Eloquii fashion spread (Photo via Facebook)
D.C.’s former school chancellor has reentered the spotlight—this time as a fashion model.
Kaya Henderson stepped down as the head of D.C. Public Schools’ in September to “take on new challenges” (shortly thereafter, she was also censured by the ethics board for soliciting money from a DCPS contractor). While her next steps remain up in the air, she was recently featured online in the plus-size retailer Eloquii’s “Style and Substance” series.
The profile piece, which features several photos of a glammed-up Henderson, describes her as a “rock star having spent several years in the district bringing positive change to the school system.” Among the outfits, she is featured in a black dress embellished with pearls, high-wasted cullottes, a sequin bodysuit and faux leather skirt, and an embroidered metallic pencil skirt. The former bureaucrat also adds a pop of color in a red ruffle skirt.
Henderson was referred for the spotlight series by a colleague who the retailer had previously featured. Jodi Arnold, creative director at Eloquii, writes that she became inspired by her story “and knew she was the perfect pick for the December issue.”
This isn’t the first time Henderson has modeled. She told The Washington Post that she did some print and TV modeling when she was seven or eight years old.
Henderson told Fox 5 News that she hopes the new photos will inspire her former students. “I may not be the ideal size that I want to be, but whatever size I am, I’m going to rock it and I want kids to know that,” she said. “Even if you want to lose weight or if you are fine with who you are, whatever you do, be glamorous, be beautiful, be bright, be wonderful, just be yourself, and I think part of this is that for me.”
Meanwhile, she said that Eloquii received so many positive responses from the online spread that the retailer is featuring her again in its February print catalogue.
It could also be the beginning of a radical change in direction for Henderson. “This has opened some new opportunity,” she told FOX5. “I have been talking to some retail technology companies about the plus-size market and how they begin to penetrate that … In front of the camera and behind the camera, I’m exploring opportunities.”
