Brian Sandoval was elected Governor of Nevada on November 2, 2010. He took the oath of office before Chief Justice Michael Douglas shortly after Noon on January 3, 2011. As Governor, Sandoval is Vice-Chair of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and is piloting the JAG program in eight Nevada schools in the next school year. A member of the National Governors Association and the Western Governors Association, Sandoval serves as Vice-Chair of the NGA Health and Homeland Security Committee. He was recently appointed Chair-elect of the Education Commission of the States. Sandoval is a member of the Republican Governors Association and the Hispanic Leadership Network. Governor Sandoval comes to his office after a long career in public service. He was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Nevada by President George W. Bush in October 2005, becoming the state's first Hispanic federal judge. He was elected Attorney General of Nevada in 2002. Prior to his election as Attorney General, Sandoval served as a member and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, which oversees Nevada's gaming industry.
As a private practitioner, Sandoval had a varied law practice, where he engaged in litigation, administrative and adoption matters. Throughout his career, Sandoval has received several awards and certificates, including the Hispanics in Politics' 1996 "Broche de Oro Award," the Anti-Defamation League's 2003 "Torch of Liberty Award," the Nevada State Bar's 2004 "Access to Justice Public Lawyer Award," the Latino Coalition's 2004 "Most Influential Hispanic in the U.S. Award," the 2004 University of Nevada "Alumnus of the Year Award," and the "Excellence in Leadership Award" from the Latino Coalition in 2010. In 2012, he was named a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine. Governor Sandoval received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada in 1986 and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1989.
Roy Takumi has served in the Hawaii House of Representatives since 1992. He has served as chair of the House Education committee since 2003. He has also chaired the Intergovernmental and International Affairs Committee; Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources Committee; and Higher Education Committee. He received his undergraduate degree in education from Long Island University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Hawaii.
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Melody Schopp Treasurer
Dr. Melody Schopp has worked for the Department of Education for 13 years. She currently serves as the Secretary of Education for South Dakota after being appointed by the Governor in April 2011. Prior to that role, she was in various capacities in the Department to include a division director as well as Deputy Secretary. Twenty three years of classroom experience and nine years on a school board were valuable in preparing to lead education in the State of South Dakota. Under Melody’s leadership, the Department has been deliberate in aligning its work towards the aspiration of all students leaving the K12 system College, Career and Life Ready. This includes the adoption and implementation of Common Core standards, next generation assessment, and a longitudinal data system. She has brought together a statewide constituency to build model teacher and principal evaluation systems. Melody has formed a strong collaboration with higher education to ensure that the transition from high school to post-secondary is as seamless as possible. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Elementary Education from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. She obtained her Ph.D from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in Educational Leadership and Higher Education.
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Jeremy Anderson President
Jeremy Anderson was a leader in education and health care policy for 20 years before joining ECS in December 2012. He has a strong public service record working with officials in Washington, D.C., with many governors and legislators in states, and with education policy organizations around the country. Some of his accomplishments include providing strategic leadership on education policy design and implementation through projects with the National Governors Association, the Education Division of Standard and Poor’s, and ECS. He served as the long-time Policy and Governmental Affairs Director for former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, where he advised the Governor on state and national legislative initiatives and oversaw her involvement with ECS during her term as the ECS Chair. While there, he was directly involved in brokering the bipartisan passage of the largest K-12 funding investment in Kansas history to avert a shutdown of Kansas schools. Anderson is serving as the eighth President of ECS since its establishment in 1965.
