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New Board Chair, Bill Kallappa and Vice Chair, Harium Martin-Morris were elected on the State Board of Education (SBE) this week. The Board’s Executive Committee now consists of education leaders Kallappa, Martin-Morris (Seattle), Mary Fertakis (Tukwila), Kevin Wang (Bellevue), and Patty Wood (Kelso) (who were elected as At-Large positions).
Bill Kallappa – Chair
Governor Inslee appointed Kallappa to SBE in 2019. Bill has a combined 27 years’ experience working in public education, Parks and Recreation Youth Programs, Tribal Youth Programs and is currently the Education Liaison for the Nisqually Tribe.
A Makah tribe member, Kallappa grew up on the Skokomish Reservation and attended Shelton High School.
Harium Martin-Morris – Vice Chair
Harium Martin-Morris has a unique blend of classroom teaching experience, education policy development, school district governance and management expertise. In 2015, he retired from The Boeing Company after 17 years in software development. He was elected twice to the Seattle School Board serving from 2007 to 2015. During his tenure on the Seattle School Board, he served on the Council of Great City Schools board of directors and the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) steering committee as its vice-chair.
Mary Fertakis, Kevin Wang, Patty Wood – At-Large Positions
Mary Fertakis, M.Ed. is the CEO of M Fertakis Consulting, LLC, specializing in P-12 educational equity issues and the intersection of education policy with housing, transportation, workforce, health, and human services policies. She is a Consultant with the National School Boards Association, and a member of the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) Leadership Consultant Cadre, which provides training to school boards.
She served on the Tukwila School Board for 22 years, representing a school district that has been called the most ethnically diverse in the United States, was the 2012 President of the WSSDA, and chaired the Association’s Federal Relations Network. She attended the UW-Seattle, earning undergraduate degrees in Political Science & International Studies and a master’s degree in Education Policy.
Kevin Wang was appointed to SBE by Governor Inslee. He is a lifelong educator, engineer, and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to STEM education access, and equity by bridging technology and education. He taught high school Computer Science after completing his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He founded and ran the Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS program for 11 years and is now working on mentoring program for tech students from small and accessible colleges.
Kevin and his family moved to the U.S. from Shanghai when he was in the 4th grade. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
After serving for 13 years on her local school board, Patty Wood was elected to the State Board in 2016. As co-chair of the equity committee, Patty has been instrumental in increasing board diversity, amplifying student voice, and advocating for inclusive curricula, including ethnic studies. Wood has been involved in the WSSDA as both a board member and a member of their Leadership Cadre.
Wood is the current CEO of Education Northwest a regionally based education lab providing nationwide professional services to educators and educational systems.
She is a graduate of Enumclaw High School, received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Central Washington University, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington.
Outgoing Chair, Peter Maier (Seattle) congratulated the new officers saying, “we have a strong Executive Committee. With their expertise, we’re optimistic about future SBE work to help create a more equitable system for our state’s students.”
Learn more about SBE’s recent work, strategic planning, mission, and vision on SBE’s Simbli site.