Board Members

Christopher Poulos

Board Chair, Connecticut State Teacher of the Year 2007, NBCT

Christopher Poulos, Connecticut’s 2007 Teacher of the Year, currently teaches at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, CT and serves as an adjunct professor at Fairfield University.  Chris is National Board Certified and teaches all levels of... read more

Marguerite Izzo

First Vice Chair, New York State Teacher of the Year 2007

Ms. Marguerite Izzo, whose teaching career spans over 30 years, is a full-time fifth grade teacher, specializing in English Language Arts, in the Malverne School District, Malverne, New York. She has taught Social Studies grades 7-12, Reading, and... read more

Eleanor Horne

Second Vice Chair, Vice President, ETS Social lnvestment Fund (retired)

In 2009 Eleanor V. Horne retired from Educational Testing Service (ETS) after a career that spanned 40 years. Under Horne’s leadership—most recently as Vice President of the ETS Social Investment Fund—ETS created a strong community and... read more

Rebecca Snyder

Immediate Past Chair, Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year 2009

Rebecca Snyder chairs the Language Arts Department and teaches English at Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. A veteran of the classroom, Mrs. Snyder has taught multiple grade levels and courses as both a secondary... read more

Madaline Fennell

Secretary, Nebraska State Teacher of the Year 2007

Madaline (Maddie) Fennell has been an elementary teacher for 23 years. She has served as a leader at the local, state and national level, most recently Chairing the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, presenting at the International... read more

John Oswald

Treasurer

As Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of K–12 Student Assessment Programs, John Oswald oversees all of ETS’s K–12 large-scale assessments. His staff manages contracts for statewide assessments in 10 states, as well as for the... read more

Cheryl Anderson

Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Community Partnerships for the College of Education at University of Phoenix

Cheryl’s passion for improving the teaching profession stems from her own early career experiences. Initially confident as a student teacher, she quickly became overwhelmed. These struggles created her empathy and drive for improving teacher... read more

Michael J. Brown

MJB Outreach Solutions

Michael J. Brown is Managing Director of MJB Outreach Solutions, LLC. Brown most recently was the former National President of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. where he led the 100’s worldwide headquarters’ operations, programs and development... read more

Jemelleh Coes

Georgia State Teacher of the Year 2014

In 2013, Jemelleh Coes, as the youngest member of her school faculty and staff, was nominated to represent Bulloch County as Teacher of the Year. She went on to become Georgia’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. She spent the last year traveling locally... read more

Paul Ferarri

Ex Officio Board Member, Director of Public Engagement Strategy, CCSSO

Paul directs CCSSO’s public engagement strategy to support national and state efforts in the implementation of college and career ready standards and next generation assessments. Paul has worked at CCSSO since 2007, and in that time has been... read more

Kelly Kovacic

California State Teacher of the Year 2010

Kelly Kovacic has spent her career working to understand how best to support teachers and school systems so they can guide their students to reach ambitious goals. A southern California native, Kelly first became fascinated by this question as a... read more

Joshua Parker

Maryland State Teacher of the Year 2012

Joshua Parker is a Specialist in the Office of Title I of Baltimore County Public and is the 2012 Maryland Teacher of the Year. A graduate of Towson University (B.S.) and the Notre Dame of Maryland University (M.A.), Josh has held a variety of... read more

Harriet Sanford

President and CEO of the NEA Foundation

Harriet Sanford is the President and CEO of the NEA Foundation. She has led the work of the Foundation since 2005. The NEA Foundation’s mission is to advance student achievement by investing in public education. Its programs raise the voice,... read more

Dyane Smokorowski

Kansas State Teacher of the Year 2013

In her 16 years in education, Dyane Smokorowski has taught middle school language arts in the Wichita, Renwick and Andover school districts in a project-based classroom focusing on critical thinking, communication, global collaboration and... read more

Bob Williams

Alaska State Teacher of the Year 2009, NBCT

Bob Williams began his teaching career as a Peace Corps teacher in Gambia, Africa. He achieved National Board Certification (Math – AYA) in 2011 and currently teaches Geometry, Algebra 1, intervention Math Strategies and two AP Calculus courses at... read more

John I. Wilson

Former Executive Director, NEA

John I. Wilson, a long-time special education teacher and association leader, was executive director of the National Education Association from November 1, 2000 to August 31, 2011. The nation's largest teachers union, NEA also represents... read more