Kentucky School Advocate
November 2024
KSBA is pleased to announce a recent appointment to the KSBA Board of Directors and two appointments to the KSBA Educational Foundation Board of Directors. In the event of an unscheduled vacancy on either board, the president of KSBA appoints new members after carefully reviewing the applications of qualified candidates.
Upper Cumberland regional director
Rian Johnson (pictured), a Middlesboro Independent school board member, has been appointed to serve as regional director for the association’s Upper Cumberland Region. Johnson is actively involved in the Bell County community having served as vice president of the Bell County Chamber of Commerce and she currently serves as the associate director of content development for Partners for Rural Impact as well as student success outreach coordinator and adjunct Instructor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. She brings years of marketing and public relations experience to the board. Johnson is also currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of the Cumberlands.
“I am deeply committed to improving educational outcomes in rural areas and am eager to bring my leadership, experience, and passion to this position,” Johnson said in her application. “I would be honored to serve the remainder of the term and contribute to KSBA’s important work at the state level.”
Johnson will serve out the remaining two years of the current KSBA board term and would be eligible to serve another full three-year term upon its conclusion.
Two named to board of KSBA’s foundation
KSBA also recently welcomed two new members of the KSBA Educational Foundation Board of Directors. Each will serve a two-year term.
Heather Stewart has served on the Walton-Verona Independent school board since 2015, including terms as chair and vice chair, as well as service on multiple special committees. She previously served as Parent Teacher Association vice chair and committee chair, and as a volunteer for Walton-Verona Youth Football.
Stewart is a supervisor for Cengage, an educational technology company. She is actively involved in her church, having chaired three different search committees for pastor, music director and youth director, and currently serves as Sunday school director.
Margaret “Margie” Cleveland is a former Woodford County school board member, having served the district from 1992-2016, including several years as chair and vice chair and on a number of special committees. She also previously served on the Task Force on Education under Gov. Steve Beshear and is a former member of the commissioner of education’s Local School Board Member Advisory Council.
Cleveland is a floral designer for Stems, LLC, and is actively involved in her local community. She previously served on several PTOs and was an inaugural member of a Woodford County School Board Decision Making Council. She currently serves as a Woodford County Community Fund board member, and is a former member of the Friends of the Library, Women’s Club and Woodford Leadership.