As a membership organization, NASBE is governed by a board of directors, which includes representation from each of NASBE’s four regions: Northeast, Southern, Central, and Western. New state board members and NASBE affiliates are also represented on NASBE’s board.
Erin D. Benham
Northeastern Area Director
Erin D. Benham was reappointed to the Connecticut State Board of Education by Governor Ned Lamont in January 2023 and serves as the state board’s vice chair. She also chairs the board’s accountability and support committee, and is a member of the academic standards and assessment committee. In June 2020, Ms. Benham was appointed to […]
Fern Desjardins
Chair-elect
Dr. Fern Desjardins was appointed to the Maine State Board of Education in 2018 and is in her second 5-year term on the board. She serves as chair of the School Construction Committee and a member of the Legislative Action Committee. She served four years (2021-2025) as chair of the board and has served on […]
Matt W. Donaldson
Secretary-Treasurer
Matt W. Donaldson was appointed as the Twelfth District Representative to the Georgia State Board of Education on January 12, 2021. Donaldson also serves on the board’s Budget Committee, Audit Committee, and State Schools Committee. Donaldson also serves on the Georgia Foundation for Public Education to represent the state board. For NASBE, Donaldson has served […]
Keven Ellis
Immediate Past Chair
Keven Ellis was elected to the Texas State Board of Education in November 2016 and reelected in 2020 and 2022. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Ellis chair twice, where he served from 2019 to 2023. Ellis is a member of the board’s Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund, which oversees agenda items related to the Permanent School […]
Byron Ernest
Chair
Dr. Byron Ernest was the 2010 Indiana “Teacher of the Year” and 2011 Christopher Columbus Foundation Outstanding National Agriscience Teacher. As a globally recognized speaker and facilitator, Byron founded Leadery Global to offer custom tailored speaking and consultative packages for clients in education and other industries all around the world. Through his professional service firm, he […]
R. Scott Gordon
NCOSEA Representative
R. Scott Gordon serves as board chair of the National Council of State Education Attorneys (NCOSEA), an affiliate of NASBE, and is an ex officio member of NASBE’s board. Now in his fourteenth year with the Kansas State Department of Education, Gordon serves as General Counsel to the agency for whom he provides legal counsel […]
Matt Hymas
Western Area Director
Matt Hymas has served on the Utah State Board of Education since 2021 and was reelected in November 2024 for another four-year term. Hymas has chaired the Utah board’s Law & Licensing Committee since 2023. He also serves on the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and is a member of the NASBE Governmental Affairs […]
Steven Isoye
Central Area Director
Dr. Steven Isoye was appointed as the Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education by Governor JB Pritzker in 2022. His term will expire in January 2027. Dr. Isoye is a retired educator having worked in Illinois high schools for 37 years—from science teacher to department chair, curriculum leader, principal, and superintendent. Most recently, […]
Kim Lewis
New Member Representative
Kim Lewis was appointed to the Maryland State Board in 2024 and is chair of the board’s education policy committee. With over 44 years of experience in education, Lewis taught in four counties in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She served as the executive director of special education in Baltimore City Public Schools and as the program […]
Randy Spaulding
NCSBEE Representative
Randy Spaulding serves as board chair of the National Council of State Boards of Education Executives (NCSBEE), an affiliate of NASBE, and is an ex officio member of NASBE’s board. He has served as the executive director for the Washington State Board of Education since 2018. Spaulding has worked in education policy in Washington for […]
Lu S. Young
Southern Area Director
Lu S. Young, Ed.D., is a clinical professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky College of Education. She also serves as chief leadership officer for the UK Center for Next Generation Leadership. Dr. Young is a former public-school superintendent with more than three decades of service in Kentucky’s P–12 […]
i
i
i