It was a honor to serve on the Board of the The NEA Foundation. I’m sad and disappointed to term out. We had our final meeting this week via Zoom and honestly I didn’t want to hang up as the board bantered at the end of the call— it was quite emotional for me after serving 7 years on the Board. It became real for me today when the departing board member “good-bye vase” that I have seen so many other board members receive over the years showed up on my doorstep via FedEx.

However, I am heartened. There is an evolving conversation on the Board about how the NEA Foundation will move forward with a vision for community-based education policy and initiatives that are the anti-thesis of what Walton, Gates, Broad and Arnold Foundations are always funding. The new strategies are incredibly promising and I wish I could say more about what the NEA Foundation board is planning.

The only thing that doesn’t change is change.

Alas, I will also be joining two new boards in the coming weeks. In those new roles I will continue to seek to impact the lives of children from historically marginalized communities.

Please take a walk down memory lane with me from the NEA Foundation Gala 2014-2020.