Awards Award Winners Superintendents to Watch Honorees 2025-26 Superintendents to Watch

Each year the National School Public Relations Association recognizes a select number of superintendents as Superintendents to Watch. Honorees are school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core. They use communication technology in innovative and effective ways to engage and inform their school communities and to expand two-way communication and outreach efforts.  

Congratulations to the 2025-26 Superintendents to Watch!

Melissa Bassanelli San Juan Unified School District (Calif.)	Wesley Benjamin, Ed.D. Kalama School District (Wash.)	Duke Bradley III, Ph.D. Newton County Schools (Ga.)
Juan Cabral Redlands Unified School District (Calif.)	Andrea Castañeda Salem-Keizer Public Schools (Ore.)	Kristin Craft, Ed.D. Boerne Independent School District (Texas)
Steven Craft, Ph.D. Dalton Public Schools (Ga.)	Wendy Dau Provo City School District (Utah)	Alvin L. Freeman, Ed.D. Bound Brook School District (N.J.)
Neil Gupta, Ed.D. Oakwood City Schools (Ohio)	Carlondrea Hines, Ph.D. St. Louis Park Public Schools (Minn.)	Ashanti Holley, Ed.D. Burlington County Institute of Technology and Burlington County Special Services School District (N.J.)
Rebecca Jenkins Libertyville District 70 (Ill.)	Suzanne Johnson, Ph.D. School District U-46 (Ill.)	Steve M. Lassiter Jr., Ed.D. Pitt County Schools (N.C.)
Jason LeMay, Ph.D. School District of Ladysmith (Wis.)	Toni Lopez, Ed.D. Pasadena Independent School District (Texas)	Karla Loría, Ed.D. Adams County School District 14 (Colo.)
Scott Mauk, Ed.D. Chimacum School District (Wash.)	Kelly May-Vollmar, Ed.D. Desert Sands Unified School District (Calif.)	Chuck Perry Broken Arrow Public Schools (Okla.)
Laurie Putnam,Ed.D. St. Cloud Area School District 742 (Minn.)	Heath Rocha Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (Calif.)	Yamil Sanchez Rivera, Ed.D. Southeast Delco School District (Pa.)
Anthony W. Smith, Ed.D. Clayton County Public Schools (Ga.)	Tiffany Spicer, Ph.D. Waco Independent School District (Texas)	Francis Touchet Jr. Lafayette Parish School System (La.)
Heather Tow-Yick Issaquah School District (Wash.)	James Vasquez Socorro Independent School District (Texas)	Tony B. Watlington, Sr., Ed.D. School District of Philadelphia (Pa.)

To be considered for the award, nominees must have:

• Fewer than five years of cumulative experience as a superintendent of schools in a school district/school board system(s) at the time of nomination;
• Implemented a communication program for the district that includes the use of new communication technology as well as more standard communication tools;
• Integrated communication goals and strategies into the district’s strategic plan; and
• Active, visible involvement in the district's communication effort (e.g., tweets, blogs, participates in face-to-face engagement activities, responsive to media requests, models good communication for staff).

Nominees do not have to be an NSPRA member.

Selected superintendent honorees receive a special certificate and are recognized on the NSPRA website, in an NSPRA e-newsletter, on NSPRA social media and during the Superintendents' Luncheon at the annual NSPRA National Seminar. 

For more information about this program, contact Communications Manager Sarah Loughlin at sloughlin@nspra.org or 301-519-1221. View previous winners here.