Georgia Education Leader Wins National Award

Alexandria, VA - January 31 - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) announced that Jeannie M. (Sis) Henry, executive director of the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), has been honored with a national award for her leadership, achievement and dedication to public education.

Henry, who has led GSBA since 2001, received the Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence in School Board Association Leadership on Saturday, January 31 in Washington, D.C, at NSBA’s Leadership Conference.

"Sis Henry is a stalwart champion of local school board governance. Her dedication to school board governance and continuous improvement has impacted not just school boards in Georgia, but school boards all over the country," said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA executive director. "She is highly respected among her peers throughout the country, and NSBA is delighted to honor her with this award."

Selection for this award is based on the nominee’s extraordinary efforts performed on behalf of the association, advocacy for public education, and relationships with local school board constituencies and the community, including NSBA.

"I am flattered and humbled to receive this award," said Henry. "I believe this honor is a testament to the professionalism, expert knowledge and skill of my staff, and the support and dedication of the GSBA Board of Directors. This belongs to the entire leadership team we’ve established at GSBA."

Through Henry’s leadership at GSBA, the association has dramatically improved its grassroots advocacy activities. She has worked tirelessly to make sure state leaders understand the role and value of school boards in a participatory democracy. Her support of technology and innovative thinking has led to the popular eBOARD products and eBOARDsolutions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GSBA that helps school boards throughout the country achieve excellence in board governance, meetings management, and strategic planning.

She currently serves on the NSBA Board of Directors and Executive Committee, where she represents all of the state school board associations that make up the NSBA Federation. She also serves as chair of the Executive Director’s Liaison Committee, a group comprised of executive directors from each of the 50 school board associations in the country.

The award, established in 1997, is named in honor of former NSBA Executive Director Thomas A. Shannon.

Since 1951, the Georgia School Boards Association has served as a voluntary association of the state’s 180 locally elected boards of education. GSBA provides training, information and services to local boards. For more information, go to www.gsba.com.

NSBA, founded in 1940, is a non-profit federation of the 50 state associations of school boards, which collectively represent 95,000 school board members nationwide. NSBA’s mission is to foster excellence and equity in public education through local school board leadership. For more information, go to www.nsba.org.