Heather Morgan

Heather Morgan serves as the Executive Director of the Kansas Community College Association. She is a native of Pratt, Kansas, and has held numerous leadership positions in state and local government. Before joining the Kansas Community College Association, she served as the Executive Director of Project 17, a 17-county regional economic development project in Southeast Kansas. Ms. Morgan holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an Emphasis in Athletic Administration from Kansas State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary History Education from Kansas Wesleyan University. 

Kathleen R Urbom. J.D.

Kathleen Urbom is president of Urbom Law Offices Chartered in Topeka, where she has a civil practice including estate planning and probate, guardianship and conservatorships, trust formation, including special needs trusts, and special education law. Ms. Urbom has extensive experience in special education law and a strong commitment to serving Kansas families to ensure their children receive the highest level of education.  She focuses on both collaboration with school districts and litigation, when necessary, to implement individualized education plans that meet her clients’ particular  special needs.   She also consults with parents and advocates to recommend options for working with school districts to achieve these outcomes.

Ms. Urbom is a member of the Kansas and Topeka bar associations, Women’s Attorneys Association of Topeka, and Jenny Mitchell Kellogg Circle. She earned her B.S. degree from St. Mary of the Plains College and her J.D. degree from Washburn University of Topeka.

Fritz Edmunds

Fritz Edmunds has more than 30 years’ experience as a Kansas lawyer. He serves as outside general counsel to various small businesses and interest groups. He also handles select cases as pre-litigation counsel and as trial-counsel when all other reasonable options have been exhausted.

He has served as a presidential appointee to a federal board in Washington, DC, and has litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout his career. Mr. Edmunds serves Kansas school board members as the School Board for Academic Excellence Kansas Legal Hotline attorney.

Marc Woofter

With over three decades of experience in public education, Woofter brings extensive expertise in school leadership, district administration, board governance, curriculum development, and student achievement initiatives.

Woofter most recently served as superintendent, where he successfully led districtwide initiatives focused on continual improvement, student achievement, and teaching excellence. Throughout his distinguished career, he has served in numerous leadership positions, including principal, superintendent, and Head Start director in school districts across Kansas.

Kim Amidzich, Ph.D.

Kim serves as the Superintendent of Greendale Schools, a Wisconsin K-12 school district. Prior to being appointed the superintendent, she led the district as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Using the tools of improvement science, she works with the Board of Education to ensure clarity in policy, strategy, and communication with the community. Building trust through radical transparency, Amidzich has raised the bar on student achievement with significant increases in student success on standardized plus district focused measures and student access to college level opportunities. Her efforts in Greendale has allowed the district to earn an Exceeds Expectations rating in 2024-2025 school year from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction School Report cards. This means that Greendale Schools, under her leadership, are achieving 90.3% of public school students across Wisconsin. Dr. Amidzich believes students and families expect excellence, and in partnership with the Board, students and families win. Dr. Amidzich has been recognized as one of the “Notable Women in Education.” She holds a PHD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s degree from Cardinal Stritch University in Education Leadership and Administration.

Kirsten Workman

Kirsten Workman is a member of the Lansing USD 469 Board of Education and a dedicated advocate for student achievement in public education. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience as a parent in diverse school systems across the country and a former university nursing instructor, she works to ensure every student has access to a high-quality education. She was recently selected as one of four school board members nationwide to serve as a panelist at the School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE) Summer Conference, where she shared insights on effective school board leadership and academic excellence. 

Mike Cleveland

Mike Cleveland graduated from USD 333 Concordia High School. He graduated of Kansas State University with B.S. Degree in Agricultural Economics and went on to spend 44 years in Sales and Marketing in the Agricultural Industry. When Mike retired he returned to the Concordia, Kansas, community to farm full time.

Mike currently serving as a Cloud County Commissioner and is currently Chairman of the Commission. He also serves as the Vice President of the USD 333 Concordia Board of Education.

Tom DeBauche

Tom DeBauche began his tenure as superintendent of USD 333 Concordia in 2025. His experience and focus on supporting students’ educational needs first has gained him respect in the community and a reputation for meeting challenges with integrity. Prior to his tenure at Concordia, he served the Clay Center school district for 18 years- first as a teacher and coach, then principal and most recently as Assistant Director of Special Education for the Twin Lakes Special Education Cooperative.

After graduating from Concordia in 2003, DeBauche received his degree in secondary education in 2008 and additional degrees in leadership at Fort Hays State University.

Jim Howard

Jim Howard currently serves as Superintendent and PreK–5 Principal for USD 335 Jackson Heights Schools. A graduate of Hiawatha High School, Jim earned his B.A. in Elementary Education from Bethany College, where he played football, and later completed an M.S. in Educational Administration, an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction, and district-level certification from Emporia State University.

He began his career as a 4th- and 5th-grade teacher and high school coach in Sharon Springs and Kingman, spending four years in the classroom before transitioning into administration. Now in his 19th year as an educational leader, Jim has served as PreK–8 Principal at Copeland Schools, District Athletic/ Activities/ Transportation/ Communications Director at Doniphan West, Middle School Principal at Scott City and Fort Scott, and Superintendent at Hoxie. He is currently in his sixth year leading Jackson Heights.

Tracy Frederick

Tracy Frederick is the Executive Director for Kansas School Board Resource Center. Tracy served Kansas for three decades as a public school teacher, community college instructor, college professor and administrator. 

Her experience includes serving on district-wide curriculum design committees, school effectiveness task force committees, elected faculty leader, accreditation and compliance officer, budget manager, oversight of institutional effectiveness, implementation of student success initiatives, responsible for hiring administration, staff and faculty positions, and serving as board liaison. Tracy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Education, a Master’s degree in Communication and a Doctorate in Communication.