[Missouri-l] FW: [Leadership] Alexa Posny Confirmed for OSERS Position

[Peter Altschul]

  _____  

From: leadership-bounces at acb.org [mailto:leadership-bounces at acb.org] On
Behalf Of Eric Bridges
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 1:55 PM
To: leadership at acb.org
Subject: [Leadership] Alexa Posny Confirmed for OSERS Position

 

Below is a press release from the Department of Education announcing two
recent Senate confirmations. Alexa Posny has been confirmed as the new
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services (OSERS). 

 

 

Eric 

 

New Assistant Secretaries Joining U.S. Education Department

 

FOR RELEASE:

October 08, 2009

 

Contact: Sandra Abrevaya

202) 401-1576 or

sandra.abrevaya at ed.gov

 

WASHINGTON -- Today, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan congratulated the
following individuals for being confirmed by the Senate on Monday, Oct. 5 as
assistant

secretaries for the Department of Education: Brenda Dann-Messier, assistant
secretary for vocational and adult education; and Alexa E. Posny, assistant

secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. 

 

BRENDA DANN-MESSIER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION

 

Brenda Dann-Messier has an extensive background in the field of adult
education. Most recently Dann-Messier served as president of Dorcas Place,
an Adult

and Family Learning Center in Providence, R.I. Prior to her work at Dorcas
Place, Dann-Messier worked at the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational

Laboratory at Brown University. Dann-Messier also served in the Clinton
administration as the regional representative for Region I in Boston under
then-Secretary

of Education Richard Riley. Prior to her work at the Department of
Education, Dann-Messier directed two TRIO programs, the Rhode Island
Educational Opportunity

Center (1987-1993) and the Educational Talent Search Program (1991-1993) of
the Community College of Rhode Island. Dann-Messier previously served as a

member of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education and
chaired the Academic and Student Affairs subcommittee for the board. She
received

her B.A. and her M.Ed. from Rhode Island College and her Ed.D. in
Educational Leadership from Johnson and Wales University.

 

ALEXA E. POSNY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE
SERVICES

 

Alexa E. Posny comes to the department from Kansas where she served as
commissioner of education for the state. As commissioner, Posny was
responsible for

helping over 450,000 students meet or exceed high academic standards,
licensing over 45,000 teachers and overseeing a state education budget of
more than

$4.5 billion. Prior to her work as commissioner, Posny served as the
director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the U.S.
Department

of Education, a position in which she assisted state and local efforts to
effectively educate all children and youth with disabilities. Posny has also

served as the Kansas deputy commissioner of education, Kansas state director
of special education, director of special education for the Shawnee Mission

School District, director of the Curriculum and Instruction Specialty Option
as part of the Title I Technical Assistance Center (TAC) network of TACs
across

the United States, and a senior research associate at Research and Training
Associates in Overland Park, Kan. Posny earned her bachelor's degree from
the

University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, a master's degree in behavioral
disabilities and a doctorate in educational administration both from the
University

of Wisconsin in Madison. Posny has also served on the Board of Directors for
the Chief State School Officers, the National Council for Learning
Disabilities,

and chaired the National Assessment Governing Board's Special Education Task
Force. Posny has also been a teacher at the elementary, middle school, high

school and university levels.    

 

Eric Bridges

Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs

American Council of the Blind

2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 650

Arlington, VA 22201 

Phone: (202) 467-5081

Fax: (703) 465-5085

 

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