Governor Appoints Members to State Board of Education

IAHE received this from the Governor's office:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

June 13, 2013

 

 

GOVERNOR APPOINTS MEMBERS TO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

 

Pence Names Four New Appointments, Two Reappointments to Board

 

 

Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today announced four new appointments and two reappointments to the State Board of Education. The appointees will serve four-year terms effective July 1st.

 

 

With extensive educational leadership experience across the nation, Dr. David Freitas has been named the Second Congressional District appointee to the State Board of Education. Throughout his three-decade career, Freitas has served as an elected City School Board Member, a State-appointed member of the Illinois Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, a State Department of Education Official in Massachusetts, a College Dean of Education for more than 20 years, a consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, and an instructor and mentor for more than 1,000 school superintendents and K-12 school principals throughout America as a University Professor of Educational Leadership. A frequent national and international invited speaker on a variety of education topics, Freitas has delivered remarks in nearly every large city in America, as well as in ten foreign countries on three continents. Freitas, of Granger, earned his doctoral and masters degrees in educational leadership from Boston University.

 

 

Andrea Neal has been appointed to the Board to represent the Fifth Congressional District. Neal recently completed her tenth year of teaching U.S. History and English at St. Richard’s Episcopal School in Indianapolis. As an adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, she has written a bi-weekly column published in 25 Indiana newspapers. Neal worked at The Indianapolis Star from 1989 to 2003 where she served as reporter, assistant city editor, editorial writer and editorial page editor. During her time at The Star, she received a number of awards including First Prize in the National Awards for Education Reporting in 1998. Neal, a resident of Indianapolis, graduated magna cum laude from Brown University.

 

 

An educational leader in Indiana for more than 20 years, Dr. Brad Oliver has been named to the State Board of Education for the Sixth Congressional District. Since 2009, Oliver has served as Associate Dean and Education Unit Head at Indiana Wesleyan University. He has served in a number of capacities within education throughout his career including as an elementary teacher, an elementary principal and assistant superintendent, a central office director and a past member of Indiana’s Title I Committee of Practitioners. In 2010, Oliver was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels to the Indiana Professional Standards Advisory Board. Oliver, of Muncie earned his undergraduate degree from Marshall University and his masters, education specialist and doctorate degrees from Ball State University.

 

 

In the Ninth Congressional District, Troy Albert has been named to the Board. Albert, who currently serves as Henryville Jr. Sr. High School Principal, is preparing to enter his seventh year in this role and his 32nd year in education. During this time, he has served as a teacher for 13 years, an assistant principal and athletic director for eight years and a principal for ten years. In November of 2012, Albert was named High School Principal of the Year for District 12 by the Indiana Association of School Principals. Following the devastating tornado that struck Henryville in March of 2012, Albert has worked to instill confidence in school safety procedures for natural disasters both here in Indiana and in other states, such as Oklahoma. Albert, of Henryville, earned his undergraduate degree from Manchester College and his masters degree from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

 

 

Sarah O’Brien, of Avon, a first grade teacher at River Birch Elementary, and Dan Elsener, of Indianapolis, who serves as President of Marian University, have been reappointed to the State Board of Education for the Fourth Congressional District and Seventh Congressional District, respectively.

 

 

Neil Pickett, of Carmel, who formerly served as the Fifth Congressional District appointee, has been named to the Indiana Career Council, and James Edwards, of Santa Claus, who was the appointee for the Ninth Congressional District, will now serve on an Indiana Works Council.

 

 

“As we strive to make Indiana the state where education works for all kids, we thank the individuals named today to the Indiana State Board of Education for their commitment to making this goal a reality,” said Governor Pence. “Their wealth and diversity of experience, both in the classroom and in leadership positions across our state and nation, will bring unique perspective to the Board and will greatly benefit Hoosier children and their families in the years ahead.”