Five-Year Term
Nancy DeFord
Position: Superintendent (retired), Park City Schools, Utah.
Education: B.A. and M.Ed., Trinity University; Ed.D., University of Southern California.
Career History and Highlights: Elementary, middle, and high school art, social studies, and gifted resource teacher (9 years); director/coordinator of art education, curriculum and assessment, educational planning, gifted programs, and magnet schools (12 years); high school principal (6 years); superintendent (7 years). University adjunct professor (College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, George Washington University). Department of Defense award for excellence in teaching; Excellence in Education Award, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Administrator of the Year, International Thespian Society; Urban Schools Fellow, College of William and Mary; "Nancy" award for teacher innovation, Park City. Author of articles published in Educational Leadership and the NASSP Journal, among others. Consultant, facilitator, and workshop presenter on art education, gifted education, planning, and interest-based decision making.
ASCD and Affiliate Participation: ASCD member, 28 years; Virginia and Utah affiliates, 26 years. Member, current and former ASCD Board of Directors and Nominations Committee. Parliamentarian, Virginia ASCD; president, Utah ASCD. Member, Affiliate Excellence Awards Work Group. Attendee, Affiliate Leadership Conferences and regional conferences; chair, Virginia ASCD conference (1989); chair, Tidewater Region conference; presenter, Utah ASCD, Virginia ASCD, and ASCD conferences.
Mary Gunter
Position: Director/Associate Professor, Center for Leadership and Learning, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Ark.
Education: B.S.E., M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D., University of Arkansas.
Career History and Highlights: Teacher, curriculum coordinator, principal, educational cooperative teacher center coordinator, assistant director, director, assistant superintendent; elected or appointed to numerous state education committees and advisory boards; director, Governor's Partnership for Children & Families; Arkansas Public School Hero; Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium state representative to Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); state board of education appointment to the professional Licensure Advisory Board; associate professor. Developed a graduate-level distributed leadership performance-based degree program; university committee memberships; graduate council; university math and science committee; P–16 university partnership facilitator; currently working on publication of first book. Focus areas: educational change, reform, and systems issues; school board development; administrative licensure system reform; curriculum and instructional leadership; administrator and teacher evaluation system reform; classroom observation for reflective practice; coaching and mentoring; educational leadership; standards; and distributed leadership.
ASCD and Affiliate Participation: ASCD member, 19 years; affiliate member, 19 years. Member, ASCD Board of Directors, Impact Task Force, Affiliate Leadership Conferences. Annual Conference presenter, participant in regional affiliate meetings. Affiliate executive director, president, vice president, second vice president, newsletter and research journal executive editor, conference chair, program chair, conference presenter, nominations chair, and position paper committee.