ABOUT US|NEWS & MEDIA|RESEARCH|HELP & FAQS

Board of Directors

Former West Virginia Governor and Congressman Bob Wise
Washington, DC
Chair, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Governor Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, former West Virginia governor and nine-term member of Congress, is the chair of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Governor Wise also is the author of the book Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth And Our Nation, and has been the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education since February 2005. Under his leadership, the Alliance has continued to build its reputation as a respected authority on high school policy and to advocate for reform in America’s secondary education system, working to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared for success.

Governor Wise is a sought-after speaker and advisor on education issues. He has advised the U.S. Department of Education and frequently testifies before the U.S. Congress. Governor Wise has appeared on national television and radio programs such as Lou Dobbs Tonight (CNN), The Charlie Rose Show (PBS), The Diane Rehm Show (NPR), and Washington Journal (C-SPAN), and has been featured in publications such as Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Charlotte Observer.

As governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005, he fought for and signed legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program, which has helped thousands of West Virginia students remain in the Mountain State for college. Governor Wise also established a character education curriculum in all state schools and created the Governor’s Helpline for Safer Schools. During his administration, West Virginia saw a significant increase in the number of students completing high school and entering college. He also signed major legislation creating a nationally recognized pre-K program that will eventually cover all the state's four-year-old children.

In 2001, Governor Wise proposed salary bonuses for teachers who achieve National Board certification, which helped triple the rate of certified teachers in the state. Additionally, Education Week’s Quality Counts 2004 report gave West Virginia its highest cumulative grade out of all fifty states. As governor, he was also the first West Virginian to chair the Southern Governors’ Association.

From 1983 to 2001, Governor Wise served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of West Virginia. During his tenure, he worked aggressively to preserve federal financial aid for students to attend college. For several terms, he was a member of the Democratic Party Leadership team as a regional whip and as a whip-at-large. Committee assignments during these eighteen years included Transportation and Infrastructure, Government Reform and Organization, and Budget. Among his notable Congressional accomplishments are the Chemical Right to Know legislation, the Wise Amendment to the Clean Air Act, and first-ever federal Mental Health Parity legislation.

Governor Wise earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1970 and a JD from Tulane University College of Law in 1975. He and wife, Sandy, live in Washington, DC with their two children.

Christy C. Levings
Elementary School Teacher and Member of NEA Executive Committee, Osawatomie, Kan.
Vice Chair, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Christy Levings, an elementary school teacher from rural Osawatomie, Kan., was elected to the National Education Association's (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2007 for a three-year term.

With three decades of education experience, Levings has been a champion for public education and school employees at the state and local levels. An elementary school teacher for 34 years, Levings currently provides instructional resource support and works with the formalized collegial mentoring program in the Olathe School District. Before being elected to the NEA Executive Committee, she served as president of the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) for five years and vice president for four years. In addition to serving as KNEA's president and vice president, Levings served as president of the Olathe National Education Association.

Levings was an education and family issues columnist for the Kansa City Star newspaper, where she received an Excellence in Teaching award. She was also featured as an "Outstanding Teacher" in the Johnson County Gazette and has been recognized for her education editorials. Levings is a member of the Kansas Congress of the PTA and Delta Kappa Gamma education sorority. She is an experienced trainer in the areas of school safety, bullying, and gender equality.

Levings graduated from Washburn University with a bachelor's degree in education and received a master's degree in educational policy and administration from the University of Kansas, which included the Institute of School Law at Harvard University. She also completed a program in graduate studies in behavioral psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Levings and her husband David, who have been married 35 years, have three grown children and two grandchildren.

Joseph A. Aguerrebere, Jr.
President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Joseph A. Aguerrebere is President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards^® (NBPTS) in Arlington, Virginia. NBPTS is an independent, nonprofit organization that advances the quality of teaching and learning by establishing a rigorous national system for certifying teachers who meet high standards of accomplished teaching. Since his arrival in 2003, the number of National Board Certified Teachers has increased by 50,000, and the certification process is now recognized as the gold standard for quality teaching. These educators work in all states and often assume leadership positions. NBPTS has expanded to develop products and services that serve educators and schools at all stages of their development, from new teachers through the principalship.

Dr. Aguerrebere was born and raised in East Los Angeles. After graduating from Garfield High School (subject of the movie, Stand and Deliver), he attended the University of Southern California where he earned a BA in political science, and masters and doctorate degrees in educational administration.

His education career includes serving as a teacher and administrator in elementary, middle, and high school settings in California. He later served as a professor of educational administration at California State University, Dominguez Hills in Los Angeles where he prepared educators to work successfully in urban settings. Prior to joining NBPTS, Dr. Aguerrebere was Deputy Director at the Ford Foundation in New York where he supported national and international initiatives to improve education.

He is recognized as a national expert on school reform, serves on numerous boards, and is an advisor to education organizations, journalists, and government.

Peggy Brookins
Ocala, Fl.
Forest High School

Peggy Brookins is a National Board Certified Teacher (Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Mathematics) and serves as Director/Mathematics Instructor of Engineering and Manufacturing Institute of Technology at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida. She was recognized as Forest High School Teacher of the Year in 1994, and was the recipient of the Florida Education Association 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award.

Ms. Brookins is a National Trainer for the American Federation of Teachers’ programs Thinking Mathematics I, Thinking Mathematics II, Thinking Mathematics III, and Thinking Mathematics Middle School: The Journey Into Algebra. She also serves as a member of the Sphere of Influence for the Naval Academy, and as a member of the High Schools That Work evaluation team. She is a graduate of the University of Florida.

Liane Cismowski
Concord, Calif.
Olympic High School in Concord, California

Liane Cismowski is a National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescence and Young Adulthood/ English Language Arts (2001). She is an English and English Language Development teacher at Olympic High School in Concord, Calif. She was recognized as the Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year in 2003, was the recipient of the California Teachers Association WHO award in 2004 and was California District Seven Teacher of the Year in 2005. In 2006 she was named the California Affiliate Nominee for the NEA Award for Teaching Excellence. She has led the Mt. Diablo National Board Certification candidate support group for the past six years. Ms. Cismowski is also a faculty member for the Masters of Arts in Teaching Leadership program at St. Mary’s College, Calif.

J. Andrew Coons
Tacoma, Wash.
Tacoma Public School District

Andrew Coons is a National Board Certified Teacher (Middle Childhood/Generalist) and an instructional facilitator in the Tacoma Public School District, in Tacoma, Wash. Mr. Coons is a member of the Washington State Mathematics Council and serves as a member of the Board of Examiners of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. His candidate support work has involved serving as a leader of local cohort groups and a trainer for Washington Education Association’s “Jump Start” statewide conferences.

Michael de la Torre
South Gate, Calif.
Bryson Avenue Elementary School

Michael de la Torre is an NBCT (Early & Middle Childhood/English as a New Language) and a bilingual teacher at Bryson Avenue Elementary, a California Distinguished School and Title 1 Academic Achieving School, in South Gate, California. He is an elected co-chair of the Peer Assistance & Review Panel, representing over 40,000 educators in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is an elected House of Representatives member for United Teachers Los Angeles, UTLA, and the elected Chapter Chair at his school site. He supports new teachers as a mentor and through BTSA, Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment. He has served as an assessor for NBPTS and is currently providing support to veteran teachers seeking National Board Certification as a facilitator through The Support Network, a collaborative between LAUSD and UTLA. When he is not busy advocating for children and educators, he volunteers his time educating the public about conservation as an animal handler at the Los Angeles Zoo’s Animals & You show or as a facilitator for the zoo’s EcoCorps program for high achieving freshman, sophomores and juniors.

Daniel A. Domenech
Arlington, Va.
American Association of School Administrators

Daniel A. Domenech has served as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators since July 2008. A native of Cuba who moved to the United States at the age of nine, Domenech has more than 36 years of experience in public education.

Prior to joining AASA, Domenech served as senior vice president of the Urban Advisory Resource for McGraw-Hill Education. In this role, he was responsible for building strong relationships with large school districts nationwide and increasing awareness of McGraw-Hill’s educational programs and services.

Prior to his position at McGraw-Hill, Domenech served for six years as superintendent of the Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools, the 12th largest school system in the nation with 168,000 students.

Domenech began his teaching career in New York City, where he taught sixth grade in a predominantly black and Hispanic community in South Jamaica, Queens. He then became program director for the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which is the largest intermediate school district in the State of New York. Following this, he was first named superintendent of schools for Long Island’s Deer Park Schools and then became superintendent of schools for the ethnically diverse South Huntington School District, also on Long Island — a position he held for 13 years. From 1994 to 1997, he was district superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Suffolk County and chief executive officer of the Western Suffolk BOCES.

Domenech, an AASA member since 1979, served as president of AASA from July 1998 to June 1999. He is also a past president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, the Suffolk County Superintendents Association, and the Suffolk County Organization for Promotion of Education. He was the first president and co-founder of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education.

In addition, Domenech has served on the U.S. Department of Education National Assessment Governing Board, on the advisory board for the Department of Defense schools, and on the board of directors of the Association for the Advancement of International Education. He currently serves on the boards of the Institute for Educational Leadership and the Education Policy Institute.

He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hunter College in New York City and a Ph.D. from Hofstra University in Uniondale, N.Y.

Cedrick Gray
Memphis, TN
Fayette County School District

Dr. Cedrick Gray was born in Milwaukee, WI moved to Memphis as a child. He attended Wooddale High in Memphis and graduated in 1989. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Memphis. He earned his educational specialist and doctorate degree from Union University in Jackson, TN.

He is formerly principal of Craigmont Middle School where he is credited for its successful turnaround in culture and academic acheivement. During his tenure at Craigmont Middle, he served as Mentor Principal for New Leaders for New Schools and as result was nominated for Principal of the Year in his second year as a school principal.

Following two successful years in the school building, he then led the Professional Development efforts for the school district’s 400 principals and assistant principals in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development. One year later, he returned to the school building to prove what research posited, that turnaround leadership can produce results. Consequently, he had the priviledge of being appointed as principal of Lester School in the Binghampton neighborhood in Memphis. Dr. Gray was credited and acclaimed for the turnaround of the culture and climate of the school. Additionally, he led the efforts of the schools to increase overall writing scores by 5% in one year. The increase included 81% passing rate of students projected as having a 40% or less chance of scoring proficiency on the state writing exam.

Most recently, Dr. Gray was appointed Superintendent of Schools for the Fayette County School District.

Dr. Gray currently serves on the board of the Tennessee Association of Middle Schools as President-Elect. He is also a faculty member of the National Middle School’s Leadership Institute as a trainer. Additionally, he serves as a Fellow in the Tennessee School Boards Association Superintendents Academy. His most recent work includes working with the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards to develop national standards for accomplished principals, where he was also appointed as a member of the Board of Directors.

His vision for public education: To embody leadership by inspiring others to see the leader in themselves.

Ruth E. Larson
Denver, Colo.
Colorado Academy

Ruth Larson is a National Board Certified Teacher (Middle Childhood/Generalist), having achieved National Board Certification in 1998. She is a fifth grade teacher at the Colorado Academy in Denver, Colo. Ms. Larson is a member of the Colorado Council International Reading Association Executive Committee and serves as the director of membership development which is a liaison role to the International Reading Association. In 2001, Ms. Larson was the recipient of the National Teaching Training Institute Teacher of the Year Award. Her daughter and sister are also National Board Certified Teachers.

C. Kent McGuire
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
College of Education, Temple University

C. Kent McGuire is the dean of the College of Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Immediately prior to his appointment in July 2003, Dr. McGuire served as senior vice president of the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, where his responsibilities included leadership of the education, children and youth division. From 1998 to 2001, Dr. McGuire served in the Clinton administration as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, where he was the senior officer for the department’s research and development agency. As education program officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts from 1995 to 1998, he managed Pew’s K-12 grants portfolio. From 1991 to 1995, Dr. McGuire served as education program director for the Eli Lilly Endowment.

Daniel J. Montgomery
Skokie, Ill.
North Suburban Teachers Union, IFT/AFT

Daniel J. Montgomery is president of the North Suburban Teachers Union, IFT/AFT in Skokie, Ill., where he leads a 1,600-member union representing K-12 teachers and support staff in eleven school districts. Mr. Montgomery also is an English teacher at Niles North High School; and is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English. He also serves as vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers; and is a member of the K-12 Program and Policy Council, and K-12 Organizing Committee of the American Federation of Teachers.

Renee A. Moore
Cleveland, Miss.
Mississippi Delta Community College

Renee Moore, a Mississippi Teacher of the Year (2001), served as a classroom teacher for 17 years—and spent eight of those years as Lead Teacher at Broad Street High School in Shelby, Mississippi. She began teaching part-time at the college level in 1994 and recently accepted a full-time position at Mississippi Delta Community College.

Ms. Moore is an NBCT (Adolescent/Young Adult English Language Arts) and received the Milken National Educator Award in 2001. She has been a Carnegie Fellow and was the first practicing classroom teacher to be appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

She is also a member of the Mississippi Commission on Teacher and Administrator Licensure. She has published a number of articles about Culturally Engaged Instruction, including "Circles of Influence," which appeared in Going Public with Our Teaching: A Reader (Teachers College Press, 2005).

Lori Nazareno
Denver, Colo.
Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy

Lori Nazareno is a National Board Certified Teacher (Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Science), having achieved National Board Certification in 1999. She is the Lead Teacher at the teacher-led Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy. Prior to this position, she was a teacher at Barnum Elementary School in Denver, Colo. She previously was a teacher at Myrtle Grove Elementary in the Miami-Dade County Public School District. She was the founding president of the National Board Certified Teacher Network of Miami-Dade. In 2002, Ms. Nazareno was named School for Applied Technology Teacher of the Year and Bureau of Vocational, Adult and Alternative Education Teacher of the Year. That same year, Ms. Nazareno was a district finalist for Teacher of the Year in Miami-Dade County.

Maria Neira
Latham, N.Y.
New York State United Teachers

Maria Neira is first vice president of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) in Latham, N.Y. Ms. Neira is responsible for the statewide union’s Research and Educational Services department. In July 2004, Ms. Neira was elected an American Federation of Teachers vice president. She began her teaching career in New York City in 1977 and later served as a 4th grade bilingual teacher.

Kimberly Oliver Burnim
Silver Spring, Md.
Broad Acres Elementary School

Kimberly Oliver Burnim is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood/Generalist) and a Kindergarten Teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2006 Ms. Oliver was named National Teacher of the Year. In 2007 she was a finalist for The Horace Mann – NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

Glenda Ritz
Indianapolis, Ind.
Crooked Creek Elementary School

Glenda Ritz is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media). She is a media specialist at Crooked Creek Elementary School in Indianapolis, Ind. Mrs. Ritz is the president of the Washington Township Education Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

Haydee Rodriguez
El Centro, Calif.
Central Union High School District

Haydee Rodriguez is an NBCT (Social Studies, 2005) and a teacher at Central Union High School District in El Centro, California. Ms. Rodriguez also served on the NBPTS Social Studies-History Standards Committee in 2009.

C.H. ‘Sonny’ Savoie
St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
National School Boards Association

C.H. ‘Sonny’ Savoie is the current president of the National School Boards Association and is a school board member from St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Mr. Savoie also is an ex-officio member of the Louisiana School Boards Association.

Ruth Ann Sweazy
Taylorsville, Ky.
Taylorsville Elementary School

Ruth Ann Sweazy is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood/Generalist). She is an early primary teacher at Taylorsville Elementary School in Taylorsville, Ky. Ms. Sweazy is a charter member of the Kentucky Association for National Board Certified Teachers where she has served in leadership roles of president, vice president, and secretary. She also is a Board of Trustee Member of the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System, and is a member of the Governor’s Education Advisory Work Group. In 2002, Ms. Sweazy received the Milken Family Foundation Educator Award.

Roger Tilles
Great Neck, N.Y.
New York State Board of Regents

Roger B. Tilles is a resident of Great Neck, N.Y. In April 2005, he was elected Regent on the New York State Board of Regents, representing Long Island. The New York State Board of Regents is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities in the state - presiding over The University and the New York State Education Department.

Mr. Tilles’ prior experience has included serving as Director of Law and Legislation for the Michigan Department of Education, and he also was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education. He was also the counsel to the Michigan Teacher Tenure Commission as well as a Special Education Hearing Officer. After being a candidate for U.S. Congress, he opened his own law practice in Washington, D.C., in 1978, until his return to Long Island in 1983 where he is a Director of Tilles Investment Companies.

Mr. Tilles has been involved in extensive business and philanthropic activities, including serving as Chair of the Long Island University Board of Trustees, the former Chair of the Long Island Regional Planning Board, and has been Executive Vice Chairman of the Tilles Center For The Performing Arts, in addition to serving on the Board and Executive Board of the Long Island Association. He has also worked to form the Long Island Arts Alliance, bringing together the cultural institutions of Long Island. He has been a vocal advocate for arts education on Long Island and across America.

Thomas C. Trang
Columbus, Ohio
Centennial High School

Thomas C. Trang is an NBCT (Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Science) and a Science Teacher at Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Trang previously taught at Metro High School in Columbus, and was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and was a Fulbright teacher in 2003. He was a recipient of the Ohio Governor Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was a Disney’s Excellence in Teaching nominee.

Kim Ursetta
Denver, CO
Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy

Kim Ursetta is an NBCT (Middle Childhood Generalist) and is a Kindergarten ELS –S (bilingual) Teacher at the teacher-led Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy in Denver, CO. Prior to this position, she was the president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

Ms. Ursetta has been actively involved in promoting quality teaching and learning. She serves on Colorado Governor Ritter’s Quality Teaching Commission. She is a principal member of the Teacher Union Reform Network, and was appointed to serve on the NEA Professional Standards and Practice Committee. In collaboration with the school district, Ursetta co-chairs the Professional Practices Work Group.

Dennis Van Roekel
President, National Education Association
Washington, D.C.

Dennis Van Roekel, a 23-year teaching veteran and longtime activist and advocate for children and public education, is president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association. As NEA President, he leads the nation's largest labor union and advocate for quality public schools.

The high school math teacher from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz., served two terms as NEA Vice President and NEA Secretary-Treasurer, and has held key positions in all levels of the Association, including Arizona Education Association President and Paradise Valley Education Association President. His accomplishments include dramatic increases in membership among teachers and education support professionals while president of the Arizona Education Association and a notable rise in voluntary political action committee contributions during his term.

Van Roekel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and a master's degree in math education from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He and his wife, Julie, have two married adult sons, and are now proud grandparents.

Terri R. Vest
Hardwick, VT
Twinfield Union School

Terri R. Vest is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescence/English Language Arts), having achieved National Board Certification in 1999 and renewed in 2008. Ms. Vest is a former member of the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators, serving as chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee for four years and vice-chair for one year. She has provided NBPTS candidate support in a variety of ways over the past 10 years, teaching graduate classes, providing online support, and participating in distance-learning opportunities for candidates. Ms. Vest was also the first TAKE ONE! mentor in Vermont. As chair of Vermont NEA’s Teaching and Learning Steering Committee, she has been integral to the creation of an NBPTS Advisory Committee. In 2010 she was named the winner of the Angelo J. Dorta Teaching Excellence Award and became Vermont’s nominee for the NEA Award for Teaching Excellence. In her school, Ms. Vest is an advocate of student voice and promotes diversity. She created and taught the first black history course in her school and is currently designing a course about indigenous peoples of North America.

Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers
New York, N.Y.

Randi Weingarten is the president of the more than 1.4-million-member American Federation of Teachers, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; and local, state and federal employees. As an AFT vice president since 1997, she has been involved in every major AFT policy initiative of the last decade. Weingarten also served on the AFT executive committee and the democracy committee, and headed the professional compensation committee. She has acted as an emissary for the national AFT in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Weingarten has been president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, since 1998, representing 110,000 non-supervisory educators in the New York City public school system, as well as home child care providers and other workers in health, law and education.

In addition, Weingarten leads New York City's Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), an umbrella organization for the city's 100-plus public sector unions, including those representing higher education and other public service workers. As MLC chair for the past 10 years, she coordinates labor negotiations and bargains for benefits on behalf of the unions' 365,000 members. Weingarten holds degrees from Cornell University School of Industrial Relations and the Cardozo School of Law. Born in 1957 and raised in Rockland County, N.Y., Weingarten is currently a resident of Manhattan.

Kathleen Wiebke
Phoenix, Ariz.
Executive Director Arizona K-12 Center

Kathleen Wiebke is a National Board Certified Teacher (Middle Childhood, Generalist) and is the Executive Director of the Arizona K-12 Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona K-12 Center provides professional development to pK-12 educators. Ms. Wiebke previously served as Deputy Associate Superintendent at the Arizona Department of Education; and as a principal and teacher in the Paradise Valley Unified School District.