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Member Bios and Contact Information

County map of school board districts / Schools by board district

Tom Benton

District 1  (Northeast Wake - map)
Mr. Tom Benton
212 W. Gannon Avenue
Zebulon, NC 27597
919-431-7324/ office
Term Expires: November 2013
tbenton@wcpss.net

Tom Benton has devoted 40 years to public education. First as a high school social studies teacher in Wake County, then becoming Principal of Topsail Jr.-Sr. High School. He was selected as Pender County's Principal of the Year in 1984. He then returned to Wake County as principal of Zebulon High School. In 1994 he opened Durant Rd. Middle Year Round and was named Wake County Middle School Principal of the Year and the North Carolina Middle School's Regional Principal of the Year in 2002 and 2005. He stayed at Durant Rd. MS until retiring in 2005.

Since "retiring", he has worked with the Leadership Group of the Carolinas, North Carolina New Schools, and many LEA's statewide as a leadership facilitator/turnaround coach. He was involved in the planning and opening of two Early Colleges, a NewTech high school and continues to be a coach/mentor to principals. He is a state trainer for the recently implemented Principal evaluation process, and has served as a facilitator/trainer in NCPAPA'S Distinguished Leadership Program for principals and the coordinator of the Future Ready Leadership training for assistant principals. Tom is also a leadership coach in NCSU's Northeastern Leadership Academy. He is an adjunct professor in Gardner-Webb University's masters in middle school program along with supervising administrative interns.

Tom holds a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education - Social Studies and a master's and advanced degree in school administration, all from UNC-CH. He maintains licenses to be a principal, superintendent, and high school social studies teacher. Tom lives in Zebulon with his wife of 40 years and a dog and two cats. His two daughters, both graduates of East Wake High School, are pursuing careers as a high school media coordinator and practicing Psychologist. Their husbands are also graduates of East Wake High School. He has two granddaughters and a grandson. In his spare time, he renovates old houses and hangs out at Surf City.

Christine Kushner

District 6  (Central Raleigh - map)
Mrs. Christine Kushner, Vice Chair
3220 Birnamwood Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919-431-7329/office
Term Expires: November 2015
ckushner@wcpss.net

Christine Kushner, a professional policy analyst and freelance writer, has lived in Wake County since 1989. A product of North Carolina public schools, she graduated as a Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a Master's Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University. She has been active in several PTAs, has served on school improvement teams, has served as a facilitator in the YWCA Study Circles program, and volunteers as a tutor and mentor through Communities in Schools. She is a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and is a William Friday Fellow for Human Relations through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative.

John Tedesco

District 2 (Southeast Wake - map)
Mr. John Tedesco
104 Rock Fish Ln.
Garner, North Carolina 27529
919-701-9253/office
Term Expires: November 2013
jtedesco@wcpss.net

Mr. Tedesco is the President and CEO of the North Carolina Center for Education Reform. In addition, he and his wife are small business owners. Upon joining the board John served as the Chief Development Officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle and on the National Development Committee for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Through these roles John led youth organizations across the state in partnership with numerous agencies to establish the NC Mentoring Children of Prisoner Initiative serving thousands of at-risk youth.

Previously, John spent 10 years in the NYC/NJ area where he worked for Pace University and NYU, before an appointment as Town Manager for Highlands, NJ. Following those roles he spent 4 years as Director of Development for Harbor House, a regional non-profit working with over 8,000 homeless, abused and or at-risk youth annually. John earned his Bachelors Degree in Public Administration from Thiel College in Greenville, PA., just north of where he grew up in the Pittsburgh area.

John, his wife Jenn, and their son Gabriel, are proud residents of Garner where they attend Victory Fellowship Church. John has received numerous community accolades and served on various boards. In 2008 he was named a Goodmon Fellow as a graduate of Leadership Triangle. He has also served on his HOA Board and on the Executive Council for the Wake Transformation Network (a collaboration of Public/Private agencies coordinating county efforts to reduce the recidivism rate of ex-offenders).

Deborah Prickett

District 7 (West Raleigh/Morrisville - map)
Ms. Deborah Prickett
11305 Ridgegate Dr.
Raleigh, North Carolina 27617
919-431-7330/office
Term Expires: November 2013
dprickett@wcpss.net

Mrs. Prickett is employed presently as an Education Consultant with the NC Department of Public Instruction working in the Federal Program Monitoring Section. Her job duties involve monitoring 21st Century Community Learning Center Afterschool Programs as well as assistance with budgets, Federal compliance, and providing technical assistance for program directors and staff who instruct at-risk students throughout the State. In this role, she is directly involved with Local Education Agencies, i.e. school systems, Community, Faith-Based, Non-Profit, and For-Profit Organizations. When she began employment with the Department of Public Instruction, she served as the Character Education Consultant for North Carolina working with 115 Character Education Coordinators across the State for almost 2 years. In addition, she is a member of the NC Collaborate for Children, Youth, and Families, and the DPI Positive Behavior Support Leadership Team.

As a WCPSS employee for over 20 years, she served as a Counselor Mentor and Lead Counselor at Leesville MS, counselor at Southeast Raleigh HS, Apex ES, Rand Road ES, and Lincoln Heights ES. Also, she was a Department Chairperson and Team Leader while teaching English, Language Arts, and Social Studies. As a beginning teacher, she taught at Carnage MS which was one of the first magnet schools in Wake County. She has a Master of Arts Degree from North Carolina Central University (graduated cum laude), a Bachelor of Arts Degree from North Carolina State University, and is a licensed Real Estate Broker in NC. Mrs. Prickett, a Raleigh native, is married with a son who attends school in WCPSS.

Kevin Hill

District 3 (North Raleigh - map)
Mr. Kevin L. Hill
300 Paprika Court
Raleigh, North Carolina 27614
919-431-7326 /office

Term Expires: November 2015
klhill@wcpss.net

Kevin L. Hill retired in 2005 from the Wake County Public School System, where he spent his entire career. Currently, he is a teaching assistant professor and the assistant program coordinator for undergraduate Secondary Social Studies Education at North Carolina State University.

Mr. Hill holds a B.A. in History, with a teaching option, from North Carolina State University where he graduated Magna cum Laude in 1976. He earned his M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a supervisor's certification from NCSU in 1981. During his career with the Wake County Public School System, Mr. Hill served as both a teacher mentor and administrative mentor. He taught secondary social studies for 14 years and served as a principal for 14 years. He was the president of the Wake County Division of Principals and Assistant Principals from 2001-2003, and was the Wake County PTA Council Co-Principal of the Year in 2005.

Susan Evans

District 8 (Southern Wake - map)
Mrs. Susan P. Evans
2016 W. Sterlington Place
Apex, NC 27502
919-431-7331 /office
Term Expires: November 2015
sevans5@wcpss.net

A long time resident of Wake County, Susan Evans graduated from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Accounting. Her professional experience has included working as a CPA in a "Big Eight" public accounting firm and several years working in corporate accounting for private industry. She has been an owner of a local general contracting company, has done consulting work and has taught accounting courses at Wake Technical Community College. She is currently employed part-time with a local small business.

Susan has served as Treasurer of her PTA and her Homeowners Association and served in many leadership roles at Genesis United Methodist Church in the areas of finance, administration and long range planning. She has also served as an adult counselor for Youth in her church and has directed several Children and Youth musical groups there.

Susan is a strong advocate for public education and has two children who attended Wake County Public Schools for their entire K-12 education. Both are currently college students at N.C. State University.

Keith Sutton

District 4 (East Raleigh - map)
Mr. Keith Sutton, Chair
4536 Drewbridge Way
Raleigh, NC 27604
919-431-7327 /office
Term expires: November 2015
ksutton@wcpss.net

Mr. Sutton works as Victim Advocate Liaison for the N.C. Governor's Crime Commission. Prior to that, he worked as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Triangle Urban League. He holds a BA in Industrial Relations from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is a member of Wake Chapel Church.

Bill Fletcher

District 9 (Western Wake - map)
Mr. Bill Fletcher
126 Castlewood Drive
Cary, NC 27511
431-7332/ Office
Term Expires 2013
bfletcher@wcpss.net

Jim Martin

District 5 (South Central Raleigh - map)
Dr. Jim Martin
8613 Cavatina Court
Apex, NC 27539
919-431-7328 /office
Term Expires: November 2015
Jmartin4@wcpss.net

Dr. Jim Martin is a professor of chemistry at North Carolina State University. There, he teachers courses ranging from general chemistry to advanced inorganic and materials chemistry and has made significant contributions to curriculum development. He is a Faculty Scholar for the Park Scholarship Class of 2014. He also leads an internationally recognized research program that includes training undergraduate and graduate student scientists. In recognition of his work as a teacher and scholar, Dr. Martin received a CAREER-Award from the National Science Foundation and was named a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

Before joining the faculty at NC State University in 1994, Dr. Martin earned a BA in Chemistry and Biology from Goshen College (1986), Goshen, IN; a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Indiana University (1990), Bloomington, IN and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Paris, France, and Iowa State University, IA.

Dr. Martin was chair of the NC State Faculty (2007-2009), served on the NC State Faculty Senate (2005-2010) and is a member of the Faculty Assembly for the UNC System (2007-present). His university leadership and governance has focused on developing effective education policy and practice, faculty development, strategic planning and budgetary analysis. For leadership in faculty/staff development and advocacy, he was presented the 2010 NC State University Faculty Diversity Award. In national science and education service, Dr. Martin reviews research proposals for the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy national laboratories, as well as manuscripts for scientific and chemical education journals.

Dr. Martin is the parent of two children who attend WCPSS schools. He has regularly volunteered in schools as a science demonstrator and served on several school system committees. He is an active member of the St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He and his family enjoy sailing and ballroom dancing.