NASBE Membership Elects New Leaders to Its Board of Directors

Alexandria, Va. — The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is pleased to announce the election of seven new members to its board of directors during its Annual Conference last month in Omaha. Brooke Axiotis, president of the Iowa State Board of Education, became NASBE’s board chair at the close of the conference. Byron Ernest, a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, was voted NASBE’s chair-elect and begins this term on the board immediately. He will begin to serve as NASBE’s board chair at the close of its 2020 Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, next October. Angelika Schroeder, chair of the Colorado State Board of Education, was elected secretary-treasurer for a two-year term. The membership also elected regional officers.

Members elected to the board for 2020 include the following:

• Audrey Noble, Delaware (Northeastern Area director, two-year term)
• Sarah Moore, Arkansas (Southern Area director, two-year term)
• Christine Benson, Illinois (Central Area director, three-year term)
• Ronald McNinch, Guam (Western Area director, three-year term)
• Fern M.Y. Desjardins, Maine (new member representative, one-year term)
• Holly Farris, South Dakota (NCOSEA representative, one-year term)
• Alicia Williams, Arizona (NCSBEE representative, one-year term)

This group will join the following board members who are returning for their second year:

• Rachel Wise, Nebraska (serving as immediate past chair)
• Karen Williams, District of Columbia (Northeastern Area director)
• Stephanie Bell, Alabama (Southern Area director)
• Vic Lenz, Missouri (Central Area director)
• Janet Cannon, Utah (Western Area director)
• Jason Dean, Mississippi (new member representative)

“NASBE’s board of directors plays an important role in helping the organization achieve its mission of developing, supporting, and empowering state boards to fully embrace their role as citizen leaders,” said NASBE President and CEO Robert Hull. “The board’s combined decades of expertise and commitment to NASBE’s strategic direction will help ensure the organization’s sustainability for years to come as an organization led by members in response to members’ needs.”

NASBE serves as the only membership organization for state boards of education. A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, NASBE elevates state board members’ voices in national and state policymaking, facilitates the exchange of informed ideas, and supports members in advancing equity and excellence in public education for students of all races, genders, and circumstances. Learn more at www.nasbe.org.

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