One Austin School Board member recently received a big honor.

Austin School Board Member Kathy Green was named as the Minnesota School Boards Association’s president-elect earlier this month at the association’s leadership conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

“It’s a huge honor,” she said. “This is the organization that represents the school district throughout the state.”

Green will serve a one-year term in 2016 as president-elect, two years as MSBA president from 2017-2018 and one year as MSBA’s past president in 2019.

Green has served on the Austin School Board since 2000, serving as clerk, treasurer, vice chair and chair of the board. She has served on the MSBA Board of Directors since 2010, representing board members from District 1 (southeast Minnesota.) In that time, she has served on the Congressional Delegation Committee; been a part of the Cities, Counties, School Boards and Townships collaboration group; served on MSBA’s Executive Committee in 2014 and 2015 and also served on the Minnesota School Boards Association Insurance Trust and the All-State School Board Committee.

“I’ve always had a tremendous respect for this organization,” Green said.

“I just think honored is the word that’s there for it,” she added.

Green graduated from Minneapolis Public Schools, attended Hamline University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, receiving her hygienist graduate dental hygiene degree, as well as a B.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

She is a dental hygienist and financial secretary for Elrod, Green and Hyland, DDS.

She said her passion for school board came from being a parent who wanted to get involved. She has always been passionate about policy making and helping people at a local level have a voice at the table when those policies are decided.

“There’s a lot of gratification in that,” she said. “I’ve worked hard for many years. It started primarily being a parent and wanting to be involved in my child’s education, and it became a passion from that.”

Green looks at receiving the position as an affirmation of the work she has put in all these years.

“Professionally it means that I’m taking it to the next level,” she said. “Truly I’ve had a passion for public policy and public education policy and this is putting me in a position where I will be able to witness policy being made at the national level.”

Green also serves in state functions as a trustee for the Public Employees Retirement Association, has been a Governor-appointed member of the Compensation Council representing Congressional District 1, a member of the Minnesota Academic Standards in Mathematics Committee, and a member of the Early Learning Foundation Board of Directors.

Although Green is honored by the elected position, she said it is also a huge honor to the Austin Public School District, showing the hard work everyone has put in.

“We are known statewide for our innovation and working hard for students, and because of that there’s been different times when our district and school board has been recognized for that,” she said. “So it’s not only an honor for me but it’s an honor for the whole district and all the work everyone had been doing.”

MSBA is a statewide nonprofit organization representing 332 Minnesota public school boards. MSBA provides technical assistance, advocates for public school students and offers training opportunities for board members.