For Immediate Release: October 27, 2016

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

 

NASBE Membership Elects New Leaders to Its Board of Directors

Jay Barth of Arkansas Will Serve as Chair of NASBE’s Board of Directors, John Kelly of Mississippi Becomes NASBE Chair in 2018

Alexandria, Va. — The National Association of State Boards of Education is pleased to announce the election of seven new members of its board of directors during its 58th Annual Conference last week in Kansas City, Mo. John Kelly, a chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Education, was voted NASBE’s chair-elect. Kelly will begin his term as chair-elect in January 2017 and then serve as chair of the association’s board in 2017. Jay Barth, the current chair-elect and member of the Arkansas State Board of Education, starts his term as NASBE’s chair of the board in January. The membership also elected regional officers. Their two-year terms also begin in January.

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

  • Martha Harris, Maine (Northeast Region)
  • Beverly E Kingery, West Virginia (Southern Region)
  • Connie Fletcher, Washington (Western Region)
  • Vic Lenz, Missouri (Central Region)
  • MJ Bolt, Washington (New State Board Member Representative)
  • Donna Peduto, West Virginia (NCSBEE Representative)
  • Nicole Proesch, Iowa, (NCOSEA Representative, serving one year)

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

  • Jim McNiece, Kansas, (serving as immediate-past chair)
  • Scott Johnson, Georgia, (secretary-treasurer)
  • Mary Ann Stewart, Massachusetts (Northeast Region)
  • Mireya Reith, Arkansas (Southern Region)
  • Angelika Schroeder, Colorado (Western Region)
  • Brooke Axiotis, Iowa (Central Region)
  • Byron Ernest, Indiana (New State Board Member Representative)

“Now more than ever, states are playing a more robust role in determining how our nation educates its children, and state boards of education are central to this work,” says NASBE President/CEO Kristen Amundson. “I am thrilled to have such a strong board of directors to help lead NASBE during this exciting time.”

The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, promote excellence in the education of all students, and ensure responsible lay governance of education.

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