Dr. Salustiano T. Jimenez has been serving as the Regional Director of the Department of Education Regional Office VII since 2019, assuming the position as Officer-In-Charge and was later appointed as full-fledged Regional Director on February 17, 2021.

After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Education as Magna Cum Laude at the University of the Visayas, he began his journey as an educator, serving as a high school teacher in the same University. Simultaneously, he took up Bachelor of Laws and graduated in 1994. Recently, he is conferred with the title of Juris Doctor.

He later joined the Department of Education as a public school teacher in 1996. A few years after, he was promoted as head teacher in 2002 and principal in 2005. The following year, he became the Education Program Supervisor for private schools in DepEd Division of Cebu City. Eager to advance his professional career, he has been appointed as the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent in the same division in 2008. After four years, he was appointed as the Schools Division Superintendent in the Division of Negros Oriental in 2012.

Following his stint as SDS in that division, he also became the OIC of the Office of the Assistant Regional Director in DepEd Negros Island Region. A year after, he was transferred to DepEd Regional Office VII as Assistant Regional Director prior to his appointment as OIC-Regional Director on July 1, 2019.

Grounded in his strategic direction framework, “SMILE” Strengthening Management, Instruction and Leadership for Excellence”, he advocates for Caring, Affectionate and Respectful Employees (CARES), Fast Efficient, Effective and Transparent Governance (FEETGov), Nurturing Innovation and Culture for Excellence (NICE), and Information Technology Based Operations (ITOps). He currently serves as the President of the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies (ARENA 7).