Nancy Navarro Elected Board of Education President for Second Consecutive Term

Shirley Brandman Reelected Vice President of the Board

Nancy Navarro was reelected president of the Board of Education on the first ballot by a seven-vote majority, and Shirley Brandman was unanimously elected vice president of the Board on the first ballot. The election occurred during the Board's regularly scheduled business meeting on Tuesday, December 11. Both new officers will serve for a one-year term.

“I wish to thank my colleagues on the Board of Education for electing me as their president for a second term,” said Ms. Navarro. “It is a privilege to work on behalf of our amazing and accomplished students to ensure that MCPS continues to provide a challenging learning environment that is among the best in the world.”

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

Ms. Navarro is a co-founder of 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.

Among Ms. Navarro’s volunteer leadership roles are PTSA co-president and chair of the Youth, Schools, and Childcare Work Group of the Long Branch Revitalization Task Force. She also has served as a bilingual classroom parent volunteer. She is the recipient of the 2007 Woman of Achievement Award from the Montgomery County Business and Professional Women, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County Leadership Award, and the Maryland State Department of Education “Women Who Dare” Leadership Award, among other recognitions.

Ms. Navarro is a graduate of the University of Missouri—Columbia. She has two daughters who are Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students.

Shirley Brandman was elected to her first four-year term in November 2006 as an at-large representative. She currently is chair of the Board's Special Education Ad Hoc Committee.

“It is my honor to be serving as vice president for a second year as part of this strong leadership team,” said Ms. Brandman. “I look forward to working with the full Board in building our momentum.”

Ms. Brandman began her professional career as an attorney representing children in abuse and neglect cases in Newark, N.J. In 1993, she founded Cornell Law School’s first child advocacy clinic. After her children were born, she returned to school to become a teacher for children with learning disabilities.

For the past 10 years, Ms. Brandman has served as an elected local and county PTA leader, serving as vice president for educational issues with the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. She was appointed by the county executive as a parent representative to the Montgomery County Commission for Children and Youth from 2002–2004.

Ms. Brandman is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School and holds a master’s degree in special education/learning disabilities from American University. She is married with two sons who attend MCPS.