Strategic Council
*Board of Directors
Xavier Adams
Social Studies Teacher at Orange High School,
NCCAT 2022 Prudential NC Beginning Teacher of the Year
*Dr. Margaret H. Annunziata
President, Isothermal Community College
Donna Bledsoe
2023 Wells Fargo NC Principal of the Year
Russ Campbell
Senior Communications Officer, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
*Dr. Donnell Cannon
Senior Managing Director/Senior Designer, Reinvention Lab at Teach for America
Leah Carper
Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Guilford County Schools
2022 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year
*Newell Clark
Commissioner, North Carolina Historic Commission; Former Mayor, Lexington, NC
Laurie Clowers
Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Wake Technical Community
College
Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr.
Superintendent, Cumberland County Schools
Debra L. Derr
Director of Government Affairs, NC Chamber
Dr. Scott Elliott
Director of Development, Blue Ridge Conservancy; Former Superintendent, Watauga County Schools
Astrid Emily Francis
High School ESL Teacher, Cabarrus County Schools
Eric Frederick
Former Editorial Advisor, EdNC
Dr. Jeremy Gibbs
Former Deputy State Superintendent, NC Department of Public Instruction
Kezia “Kate” Goodwin
Owner, Kate’s Korner Educational Services LLC
Jennifer Gregory
Associate Superintendent, Mitchell County Schools
Victoria Griffin
Chief Administrative Office Analyst, Bank of America
Ferrel Guillory
Founder, EducationNC
Gerry Hancock
Founder, EducationNC
David Heatherly
President, Coastal Carolina Community College
D. Craig Horn
Former Representative, District 68, North Carolina General Assembly
Leshaun T. Jenkins
Principal, Pitt County Schools Early College High School
Kimberly Jones
2023-24 Burroughs Wellcome NC Teacher of the Year
Chuck Kaylor
Chief of Staff, John M. Belk Endowment
Amy L. Kovac-Ashley
Executive Director, Tiny News Collective
Laura Leatherwood
President, Blue Ridge Community College
Freebird McKinney
Director of Partnership Development, Participate Learning; 2018 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year
Dr. Lynn Moody
President, SparkNC
Kayla Romero Morais
Senior Director of Regional Impact, Leadership for Educational Equity
*Jose Oliva
Former Chief of Staff, Guilford County Schools
Cyndi Soter O'Neil
Director of Strategic Philanthropy, IMC/ChildTrust Foundation; Co-Chair, Invest Early NC
*Dr. Keith Parker
Superintendent, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools
Erica Beshears Perel
Operations Director, Tiny News Collective
*Dr. Monique Perry-Graves
CEO, Road to Hire
*Mebane Rash
CEO, President, and Editor-in-Chief
*Dr. Pamela G. Senegal
CEO, YWCA Central Carolinas
Melissa Singler
President, Robeson Community College
Zeb Smathers
Mayor of Canton
Amneris Solano
Assistant Director for Communications at the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership, NC State University
Dr. Erin Swanson
Education Strategy Consultant
Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith
Senior Director, Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity
Elaine Townsend Utin
Executive Director & Co-Founder, LatinxEd
*Yona Wade
Head of Training and Development, Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority
Tracy Zimmerman
VP, Policy & Strategy, Neimand Collaborative