Charter School Advocate From McLean Appointed To VA Board Of Education

MCLEAN, VA — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed William Hansen, a McLean resident, to the state Board of Education on Thursday.

Hansen was recently named president and CEO of Building Hope, a nonprofit foundation created to promote charter schools. The group has supported more than 300 charter school projects in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Building Hope, Hansen served as president and CEO of the Strada Education Network. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush.

Hansen holds a degree in economics from George Mason University and attended Idaho State University.

The Board of Education consists of nine members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Members are appointed to serve a term of four years. Members can’t be appointed to more than two consecutive four-year terms.

Among the other people that Youngkin appointed to the state Board of Education on Thursday was Grace Turner Creasey, executive director of the Virginia Council for Private Education, a group started in 1974 as the Virginia affiliate of the Council for American Private Education, a national non-public school advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Youngkin's other appointees to the state Board of Education were:

• Suparna Dutta of Fairfax, technology architect, Infosys; co-founder, Coalition for TJ; education platform director, American Hindu Coalition.
• Andrew J. Rotherham of Madison, co-founder and partner, Bellwether Education Partners.
• H. Alan Seibert of Salem, constituent services and government relations officer, Roanoke City Public Schools; president, Virginia Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.