NASBE Membership Elects New Leaders to Its Board of Directors

For Immediate Release: November 15, 2017

Contact: Renée Rybak Lang, renee.lang@nasbe.org, 703-740-4841

NASBE Membership Elects New Leaders to Its Board of Directors

John Kelly of Mississippi Serves as Chair of NASBE’s Board of Directors; Rachel Wise of Nebraska Chosen as Chair-elect.

Alexandria, Va. — The National Association of State Boards of Education is pleased to announce the election of eight new members to its board of directors during its 59th Annual Conference last week in Atlanta. John Kelly, a member of the Mississippi State Board of Education, became NASBE’s chair of the board at the close of the conference. Rachel Wise, a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education, was voted NASBE’s chair-elect and begins her term on the board immediately. She will begin to serve as chair of the association’s board at the close of NASBE’s Annual Conference next October. Indiana State Board Member Byron Ernest was appointed to a two-year term on NASBE’s board as secretary-treasurer. The membership also elected regional officers, each serving two-year terms.

Newly elected to the board for two-year terms were the following:

• Estela Lopez, Connecticut (Northeastern Region)
• Kevin Boyd, Georgia (Southern Region)
• Angelika Schroeder, Colorado (re-elected for the Western Region)
• Lupe Ramos-Montigny, Michigan (Central Region)
• Ronald McNinch, Guam (New State Board Member Representative)
• Scott Summers, Nebraska, (NCOSEA Representative, serving one year)

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

• Jay Barth, Arkansas (serving as immediate past chair)
• Martha Harris, Maine (Northeastern Region)
• Stephanie Bell, Alabama (Southern Region)
• Connie Fletcher, Washington (Western Region)
• Vic Lenz, Missouri (Central Region)
• MJ Bolt, Washington (New State Board Member Representative)
• John-Paul Hayworth, District of Columbia (NCSBEE Representative)

“States and state boards of education are at the center of efforts to improve public schools for all children in this country,” says NASBE President and CEO Kristen Amundson. “These new members of NASBE’s board of directors will lead our organization in this important work.”

NASBE is the only national organization giving voice and adding value to the nation’s state boards of education. A nonprofit organization founded in 1958, NASBE works to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking, promote excellence in the education of all students, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, and ensure continued citizen support for public education. Learn more at www.nasbe.org.

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