Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell

NEWS FROM ASSEMBLY MEMBER DANIEL O'DONNELL Contact: Nicole Migliore (315) 889-1702 miglioren@nysa.us     Assembly Member O'Donnell Nominates Nan Mead as Manhattan Regent     March 8, 2016- Assembly Member O'Donnell is proud to announce his nomination and the legislature's election of Nan Mead as the 1st Judicial District representative for the New York State Board of Regents. Assembly Member O'Donnell believes it is crucial that the Board of Regents have a current public school parent as a member, and thus put forward two exceptionally qualified parents for consideration from the NYC public school system. Assembly Member O'Donnell is pleased that one of his recommendations was chosen for the open seat:    I'm happy that Nan Mead was chosen as the Manhattan Regent. I have always been adamant that the Board of Regents needs the perspective of a parent that is currently coaching a child through the public school system. Nan Mead is not only a parent to two children in NYC's public schools, but is also a product of the NYC public school system. Additionally, she has been incredibly active in advocating for children in the school district I represent and all of NYC, including but not limited to serving three terms on the District 3 Presidents' Council, serving two terms as First Vice Chair of the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council, and serving one term as First Vice President of Community Education Council 3. I am confident that she will continue to do an exceptional job advocating for New York's students as the Manhattan Regent. I want to thank the Manhattan Assembly Members who stood by me in appointing a public school parent for the Board of Regents. Thank you to Assembly Members Glick, Quart, Rodriguez, Linares, Seawright, and Kavanagh. Special thanks to Assembly Member Keith Wright for seconding the nomination.     Prior to becoming a parent leader five years ago, Nan Mead served eight years on the Alumni Board of the Bronx High School of Science as its only African American member, where she sought to secure greater funding and greater access for low income and underrepresented minority students. Her passion for advocating for underrepresented youth and their parents stems from personal experience:    From Kindergarten to the 3  rd grade I attended a struggling neighborhood school. When I was assessed in the 3 rd grade, I scored well. The principal, believing that a different environment would better support me academically, arranged for my transfer to a high-performing school in a much more affluent part of the district. Later I was tracked into the accelerated program at my zoned middle school, and ultimately earned a seat at Bronx Science. I am forever grateful to that principal, Dan DeBono, Sr. To this day I truly believe that his intervention completely changed the trajectory of my life. However, no student should have a 'good testing day' - or live in the right zip code - in order to obtain a great public education. Every school across this great state should be a great school. And that is the ideal for which I strive in my advocacy.  Newly appointed Manhattan Regent Nan Mead is joined by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Assembly Education Chair Cathy Nolan, Assembly Higher Education Chair Deborah Glick, and Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell at the signing of her oath of office. ###   Daniel O'Donnell, the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly, has been a progressive voice advocating for  fair and sensible legislation since he was elected to represent the 69th District in 2002, including  authoring and sponsoring New York State's anti-bullying law, the Dignity for All Students Act, which was signed into law in 2010, and New York State's Marriage Equality Law, which was signed into law in 2011. He is currently the Chair of the Standing Committee on Correction. His district includes Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and the Upper West Side.