Washington, DC (January 17, 2017) – The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation announces the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors. Joining the Board of Directors are Wanda Blanchett, Jane Ellspermann, Karen Symms Gallagher, and Maria del Carmen Salazar.

“We are honored to welcome these four outstanding educators to the board,” said Mary Brabeck, CAEP Board Chair. “The infusion of their expertise in educational equity, leadership, as well as transformational practice, will propel CAEP’s work in innovative and thoughtful directions.”

Wanda Blanchett is a distinguished professor at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. Dr. Blanchett is an expert on educational inequity and has an extensive service record to the profession with AERA, CADREI, and AACTE.

Jayne Ellspermann is the president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Ellspermann has over 35 years of experience in education, serving 25 years as principal at the elementary-, middle-, and high-school levels, and has devoted her career to principal leadership development. She was named the 2015 National Principal of the Year.

Karen Symms Gallagher is the dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Dr. Gallagher is an innovator who launched a first-of-its-kind online teaching master’s program, an immersive educational leadership EdD program that became a national model for engaging students in real schools and districts, and USC’s hybrid high school.

María del Carmen Salazar is a professor of teacher education and learning sciences at the University of Denver. Dr. Salazar’s research focuses on transformative teacher preparation, assessment validity and reliability, and equitable and effective teaching. She was the keynote presenter at the 2016 Spring CAEP Conference in San Diego, where she wove together personal experience with research to demonstrate how to cultivate success in underserved teacher candidates.

CAEP expresses its thanks for dedicated service to the CAEP Board to the board members whose terms concluded: Virginia Goatley and Randy Hitz.

For more information about the CAEP Board of Directors, visit: caepnet.org/about/governance.

About CAEP

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEPnet.org) advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.