Awards Nominate a Colleague Superintendents to Watch

Each year the National School Public Relations Association recognizes up to 25 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 2022 Superintendents to Watch!

Travis Bracht, Ed.D. Affton School District Affton, Mo.	Kristin Brown, Ed.D. Lyford Consolidated Independent School District Lyford, Texas	Sharon Byrdsong, Ed.D. Norfolk Public Schools   Norfolk, Va.
Shaun Carey, Ed.D. Enumclaw School District Enumclaw, Wash.	Joey Castilleja, Ed.D. Mabton School District Mabton, Wash.	Adam Clark, Ed.D. Mt. Diablo Unified School District Concord, Calif.
John Gordon, III, Ed.D. Suffolk Public Schools Suffolk, Va.	Guadalupe Guerrero Portland Public Schools Portland, Ore.	Peter Hannigan, Ed.D.  Hawthorn School District 73 Vernon Hills, Ill.
Kevin Hendrick Pinellas Public Schools Largo, Fla.	Eduardo Hernández, Ed.D. Edgewood Independent School District San Antonio, Texas	Lupita Hinojosa, Ed.D. Spring Independent School District  Houston, Texas
Alfonso Jiménez, Ed.D. Hacienda La Puente Unified School District City of Industry, Calif.	Sean Maika, Ed.D. North East Independent  School District San Antonio, Texas	Alex Marrero, Ed.D. Denver Public Schools Denver, Colo.
Joshua McDowell, Ed.D. Crete Public Schools Crete, Neb.	Rosanna Mucetti, Ed.D. Napa Valley Unified School District Napa, Calif.	Brian Nichols, Ed.D. New Kent County Public Schools New Kent, Va.
Josh Reitz, Ed.D. McHenry School District 15 McHenry, Ill.	Mike Rockwood, Ed.D. Lake Dallas Independent School District Lake Dallas, Texas	Diana Sayavedra El Paso Independent School District El Paso, Texas

Greg Sears Kings Local School District  Kings Mills, Ohio	Adam Swinyard, Ed.D. Spokane Public Schools Spokane, Wash.	Ameca Thomas, Ph.D. Laurens School District 55 Laurens, S.C

Benjamin Wiggins, Ed.S.  Colquitt County School District Moultrie, Ga.

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. 

Nominations for the 2023 award will open in August. For more information about this program, contact Communication Specialist Sarah Loughlin at sloughlin@nspra.org or 301-519-1221. View previous winners here.