Dr. Del Burns is an educator with more than 34 years in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), serving as superintendent from 2006 to 2010. He began his career in 1976 as a lateral-entry special education teacher and later served as principal of Washington GT Magnet Elementary, East Wake High School and Millbrook High School, earning WCPSS Principal of the Year honors in 1999. Since retiring, he has provided consulting, coaching and mentoring through Burns Alliance Inc. in Raleigh and has served as interim superintendent for several districts, including New Hanover County Schools (2020) and Northampton County Schools (2021–2022), where his experience helped stabilize districts through challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named to the WCPSS Hall of Fame in 2019 and co-authored Preserving the Public in Public Schools with Dr. Phil Boyle.