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.
Brooke Axiotis
Chair
Brooke Axiotis is president of the Iowa State Board of Education. She works at Drake Law School as the director of academic success programs and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Her community activities involve participating in the Goodwill of Central Iowa board, the Urban Ag Academy board, and most recently, chairing the […]
Stephanie Bell
Southern Area Director
Stephanie Bell is the longest serving member of the Alabama State Board of Education and has twice served as the board’s Vice President and Board Chair. An active member of NASBE, she is serving as southern area director for the second time and was a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee for a number of […]
Christine Benson
Central Area Director
Dr. Christine Benson is a member of the Illinois State Board of Education. She is a retired career educator with 35 years of experience, 17 as a teacher and 18 as an administrator in Illinois public elementary, middle, and high schools. She served as a central office administrator focusing on budget management, curriculum development, and […]
Janet Cannon
Western Area Director
Janet Cannon was first elected to the Utah State Board of Education in 1994. She was subsequently re-elected and served on the Board through 2012. After a four-year hiatus, she is back serving a fifth term on the Utah State Board of Education. She is a strong advocate of NASBE and previously served as western area […]
Jason Dean
New Member Representative
Jason Dean, Ph.D. is chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Education. He is the vice president of Tenax Aerospace, an aerospace company based in Madison, Miss. Previously he was the vice president of the Mississippi Economic Council and was a policy adviser to Governor Haley Barbour. He was a White House Fellow and was […]
Fern Desjardins
New Member Representative
Fern Desjardins was nominated to the Maine State Board of Education by former Governor Paul LePage and was confirmed by the Maine Senate in April 2018 for a term of 5 years. She currently serves on the state board’s construction committee and sits on the Maine Charter School Commission. In the past, Desjardins has served […]
Byron Ernest
Chair-elect
Dr. Byron Ernest is a former (2010) Indiana “Teacher of the Year” and currently serves as Head of Schools for Hoosier Academies in Indiana. Previously, Dr. Ernest served as principal at Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis after it was taken over by the State for receiving seven consecutive failing annual performance grades. As principal, […]
O. Victor Lenz, Jr.
Central Area Director
O. Victor Lenz, Jr., joined the Missouri State Board of Education in 2013. He worked in the Lindbergh School District in St. Louis, Missouri, as a teacher and administrator, ending his career there as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. For 10 years, he served on the Lindbergh Schools Board of Education and was president […]
Tiffany Lucas
NCOSEA Representative
Tiffany Lucas is the chair of the National Council of State Education Attorneys. Tiffany began her public sector legal career in the Georgia Attorney General’s Office in 2004. Since 2011, she has worked in the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office practicing education law.
Ronald McNinch
Western Area Director
Ron McNinch was initially appointed in 2016 by Governor Calvo to the Guam Education Board as the business sector representative. With the election of Governor Lou Leon Guererro in 2016, he was encouraged to continue in this role. He is chair of public administration and legal studies at the University of Guam and his primary areas of concentration are public sector […]
Sarah Moore
Southern Area Director
Sarah Moore was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Education in 2018 by Governor Asa Hutchinson to represent Arkansas’ first congressional district. A resident of Stuttgart, Moore taught elementary school in the Stuttgart School District and then worked at the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas. In addition, she has worked […]
Audrey Noble
Northeastern Area Director
Dr. Audrey J. Noble was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor John Carney and confirmed by the State Senate on March 14, 2018. Dr. Noble received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish/French/Secondary Education from Westminster College in 1971. She later received a Masters of Education in Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University in 1974. She […]
Angelika Schroeder
Secretary-Treasurer
Angelika Schroeder is a former tax CPA and college professor of accounting. For the past 20 years she has also been active in education issues at her daughters’ schools, their district and at the state level. She served from 1999 through 2007 on the Boulder Valley School Board, serving as treasurer and vice president. She […]
Alicia Williams
NCSBEE Representative
Since joining the Arizona State Board of Education staff in July 2016, Williams has served as the Deputy Director of Policy and Initiatives and, since November 2017, as Executive Director. She brings to the Arizona State Board of Education experience in public K-12 education, having served as a teacher and administrator in Title I schools […]
Karen Williams
Northeastern Area Director
Karen Lee Williams was elected by her constituents in Ward 7 to serve as their representative on the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) in November 2012 and was re-elected in November 2016. She is currently the Chair of the SBOE’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Task Force. In 2017 and again in 2018, Ms. Williams served […]
Rachel Wise
Immediate Past Chair
Rachel Wise, elected to the Nebraska State Board of Education in 2013, has been involved in the education for over 30 years, beginning her career as a teacher in Tekamah, Neb. Wise also taught at Winnebago Public Schools, Logan View Public Schools and Wayne State College. She has also held positions in administrative and management […]
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