Board of Education President Named 2007 Woman of Achievement by Montgomery County Business and Professional Women

Nancy Navarro, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, has been named a 2007 Woman of Achievement by Montgomery County Business and Professional Women. She was honored along with eight other recipients of the award at an October 16 awards gala.

Woman of Achievement Awards recognize women who exhibit outstanding career achievement, efforts in public policy, assistance to other women in advancing their careers, guidance to youth and women in transition, and community service.

Appointed by the Board in October 2004 to fill the term of the vacant District 5 seat, Navarro was elected to her first full term as a Board member in November 2006. She was elected president in December 2006. She is chair of the Board’s Communications and Public Engagement Committee and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee.

Navarro is a co-founder of Centro Familia, a nonprofit community-based organization whose mission is to assist the economic and educational development of Latino and other immigrant communities. School readiness, healthy family development, and academic achievement are primary goals of the organization.

Ms. Navarro has served in a number of volunteer leadership roles, including PTSA co-president and chair of the Youth, Schools, and Childcare Work Group of the Long Branch Revitalization Task Force. In addition to having served as a bilingual classroom parent volunteer, Ms. Navarro also has served as a member of the Montgomery County Gang Task Force Community Action Task Group; co-chair of the Long Branch Revitalization Task Force, “Youth, Schools, and Child Care” workgroup; member of the Founding Board of Directors of the Non-Profit Village; and a member of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.

In addition to being named a Woman of Achievement, Navarro is the recipient of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County Leadership Award, the U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur & Education Foundation "Hispanic Hero" Award in the Education category, and the Maryland State Department of Education “Women Who Dare” Leadership Award, among other recognitions.

Business and Professional Women/USA celebrated National Business Women’s Week October 15-19. For the last 79 years, the week has honored the contributions of working women and employers who support working women throughout the nation.