English: Elisabeth Dee "Betsy" DeVos /dəˈvɒs/ (née Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and activist who is the 11th and current United States Secretary of Education.

DeVos is a member of the Republican Party known for her advocacy of school choice, school voucher programs, charter schools, and ties to the Reformed Christian community. She was Republican National Committeewoman for Michigan from 1992 to 1997 and served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000, with reelection to the post in 2003. DeVos has been an advocate of the Detroit charter school system and she is a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has served as chairwoman of the board of Alliance for School Choice and Acton Institute and heads the All Children Matter PAC.

DeVos is married to Dick DeVos, the former CEO of multi-level marketing company Amway, and is the daughter-in-law of billionaire and Amway co-founder Richard DeVos. Her brother, Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, is the founder of Blackwater USA.[9] DeVos is the daughter of Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation.

On November 23, 2016, then President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education in his administration. On January 31, following strong opposition to the nomination from Democrats, citing issues raised during DeVos's testimony, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved her nomination on a party-line vote, sending her nomination to the Senate floor. On February 7, 2017, DeVos was confirmed by the Senate by a 51–50 margin, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie in favor of DeVos's nomination.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; /ˈsiːpæk/ see-pak) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU).[1] More than 100 other organizations contribute in various ways. In 2011, ACU took CPAC on the road with its first Regional CPAC in Orlando, Florida. Since then ACU has hosted regional CPACs in Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, and San Diego. Political front runners take the stage at this convention.

Speakers have included Donald Trump,[2]Ronald Reagan,[3][4][5] George W. Bush,[6] Dick Cheney,[7] Pat Buchanan,[8] Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich,[6] Sarah Palin, Ron Paul,[9] Mitt Romney,[6] Tony Snow,[6] Glenn Beck,[10] Rush Limbaugh,[11] Ann Coulter,[7] Allen West,[12] Michele Bachmann,[13] Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Gary Johnson, Mike Pence, Jeanine Pirro, Betsy DeVos, Lou Dobbs, and other conservative public figures.