These 17 people want to fill the Wake school board vacancy. Here’s what to know
.png "Wake County school board members argue whether to allow teachers to apply for grants from the group We Need Diverse Books at its Feb. 20, 2024 meeting in Cary, N.C. The board will meet Nov. 25, 2025 to interview applicants to fill the vacant District 8 seat.")
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Seventeen candidates apply to fill District 8 vacancy on Wake County school board.
- Applicants emphasize AI use, teacher recruitment, career training and mental health.
- Board will interview all 17, vote publicly and seat the appointee Dec. 2, 2025.
Seventeen people want a chance to fill the Wake County school board seat representing the southwestern part of the district.
Lindsay Mahaffey resigned in August after serving nearly nine years representing District 8, which includes parts of Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. An unexpectedly high number of people applied to complete Mahaffey’s term, which runs to November 2028.
The applicants represent a wide range of backgrounds, including educators, business people, technology professionals and stay-at-home parents. Use of artificial intelligence, building stronger relationships with parents, improving teacher recruitment and providing more career training for students were among the common themes listed in the applications.
The school board will interview all 17 applicants on Tuesday and is expected to pick the new member that night. The new board member is expected to take the oath of office on Dec. 2.
The entire process, including the interviews and votes by written ballots, is required by state law to be done in public.
The new board member will be charged with helping to decide policy for North Carolina’s largest school district. The job comes with an annual stipend of $38,017. The board is officially nonpartisan, but it has a 6-2 Democratic majority.
Here are the people who want to join the school board. Each applicant was asked to include three initiatives they want to pursue:
Almira Abbas
Abbas is the advocacy chair for the PTA at Oakview Elementary School in Holly Springs and the mother of three students. She previously worked in marketing for several businesses.
Abbas wants to hire more counselors and mental health staff to work with students. She also wants more funding to raise school employee compensation and to keep school buildings in top condition.
Doug Behan
Behan is a senior finance technology manager at SAS who has worked in the tech industry for more than 30 years. He said his experience would be an invaluable asset as the district works on how to use AI in schools.
Behan wants to create an early literacy program that encourages K-8 students to read pre-K level books to their younger siblings at home. His other two initiatives are creating a program that warns students about the dangers of relying on AI chatbots for companionship and creating an early career development program in middle schools.
Jennifer Dearman
Dearman is senior vice president of NoRedInk, a technology company that partners with schools to improve literacy skills. Dearman said she can provide a perspective that the board doesn’t have much of because of her background in strategic organizational leadership.
Dearman wants to increase efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, which is when a student misses 10% or more of class time. Dearman also wants to increase focus on early literacy instruction and provide more support for early-career teachers.
Robert Dunn
Dunn is an instructional system designer at the University of Central Florida. He cited the value of his 20-plus-year career as an Instructional System Architect.
Dunn says Wake needs to revisit its core beliefs, including saying it will “engender equality among all learners” as opposed to saying every student is expected to learn, grow, and succeed regardless of socioeconomic status or race. Dunn cautioned against reducing standards for teacher licensure and said decision-making should be centered on evidence-based research,
Jennifer Job
Job is regional vice chair for the Wake County Democratic Party and a principal for BreakGlass Strategies, a progressive political communications firm. She’s also a former teacher in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system and a former college professor.
Job, the parent of a third-grade student, wants to form a Rapid Growth Parent Advisory Group to educate the community about student assignment issues. Job also wants to do more to support students of color to get them into advanced courses and to help teachers develop a framework for using AI in the classroom.
Steve Murray
Murray is a pharmacist and data consultant for NC Medicaid. The father of Wake County students manages the state’s pharmacy investigative and auditing team.
Murray wants to pilot a universal school-based social and emotional learning program in two schools. Murray also wants to open up the portal earlier for teachers to request transfers. He also proposes creating an independent auditing and compliance line that reports directly to the school board.
Ramesh Nallavolu
Nallavolu is a quality assurance manager at American Express Global Travel. He has children at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham and at TMSA Apex, a charter school.
Nallavolu wants to recruit a diverse instructional staff and increase family involvement opportunities. He also wants to analyze performance data to guide instruction and high-impact interventions.
Bahram Olfati
Olfati is the principal of Cannery Row Consulting & Literary Agency, which partners with schools and community organizations to promote youth literacy. He’s the father of two Wake County students.
Olfati says he’ll advocate for expanding magnet and early-college programs, increasing access to AP and STEM courses, and strengthening vocational and arts education. He also wants to expand school-based counseling and says he’ll prioritize clear communication about how funds are used.
Laurie Parsons
Parsons is senior director of human resources at SAS with more than 20 years of corporate human resources experience. She also cites her experience being the parent of neurodivergent Wake County students.
Parsons wants to work with school PTAs to raise awareness of the needs of neurodivergent children and their families. Parsons also wants to make schools more inclusive for neurodivergent and sensory-seeking students and help all school staff better understand the needs of neurodivergent students.
Lana Prince
Prince is a stay-at-home mom of three Wake County elementary school students. Her previous experience includes being a freelance artist and nanny.
Prince wants to ensure the continuation of special-education services in the event federal aid is cut. Prince also wants to share strategies used in special-education classrooms and to add a high school class that prepares students for basic life and job skills.
Hardik Raval
Raval is a builder and entrepreneur and the parent of two Wake students. He’s the CEO of Look Salon Suites and Aahan Dreams and the founder of AH Builders.
Raval’s initiatives are expanding the use of AI to personalize instruction, strengthening career and technical education programs and implementing comprehensive mental health programs. Raval said serving on the school board would be a natural extension of his long-term goal of building schools in India for underprivileged children.
Nihar Shah
Shah is technology director at Amtrak. He says his more than two decades of experience working in engineering and technology companies has prepared him to serve on the board.
Shah wants to close the digital divide by expanding connectivity access at home for students. He also wants to strengthen career and technical education programs and ensure fiscal responsibility in spending taxpayer dollars.
Candace Smith
Smith is lead scientist at |QVIA Laboratories, which does genomic cancer research. She’s a former adjunct professor at several institutions, including ECPI University.
The Wake County parent wants to evaluate the possibility for apprentice-style opportunities for students. Smith also wants to study having cultural ambassadors to communicate with non-English speaking families and launch an advisory board to study use of AI in schools..
Premlata Vaishnava
Vaishnava is an independent language consultant and Wake County substitute teacher. She’s also taught the Hindi language in several universities.
Vaishnava wants the inclusion of more foreign languages and culture in classrooms, saying it will help students become global citizens. Vaishnava also wants to provide better support for teachers and to minimize food waste and provide more school lunch options.
George Ward III
Ward is an assistant principal at Lucas Middle School in Durham. He previously worked as a teacher and administrator in the Wake school system for 12 years.
Ward wants to create “family engagement hubs” to strengthen partnerships between schools and parents. Ward also wants to expand early college and middle school career and technical education programs and improve mentoring programs for teachers.
Raymond Yeagley
Yeagley was a superintendent for 24 years in the Rochester School District in New Hampshire and Alexander Local Schools in Ohio. He also worked 13 years at the Northwest Evaluation Association, an organization that creates tests for schools to use.
Yeagley wants Wake to pursue more of a balanced assessment system that uses multiple ways to evaluate how students are doing over the course of the school year. Yeagley also wants to train teachers in how to analyze performance data and increase expectations for what students are supposed to learn.
Heather Young
Young is an adjunct professor in multimedia marketing at Villanova University. She’s also a practicing marriage and family therapist.
Young wants to revamp health education to include resiliency, communication skills and emotional health as essential life skills. Young also wants to strengthen teacher support and build family partnerships.
