The MABE Board of Directors selected Frances Hughes Glendening to be the next executive director. Glendening has been a civic and executive leader for more than three decades, and comes to MABE from Jobs for America’s Graduates-District of Columbia, Inc. (JAG-DC), where she was the startup Chief Executive Officer serving for six years.
Glendening began her public policy career at the Prince George's County Office of Personnel where she headed the county’s Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) Program Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. She then moved to Public Technology, Inc., in Washington, D.C., as program director for the Community Technology Initiatives Program.
While in law school, Glendening served briefly as a law clerk at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) before going to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). At the FEC, she worked as the chief legal and policy advisor for Commissioner Danny L. McDonald, a position she held for twenty years.
Glendening served as Maryland’s First Lady from 1995-2001. She worked throughout the state as an advocate for issues surrounding women and children, education, the arts, mental health, and hospice. During this time, she also maintained her responsibilities at the FEC, and was the architect of a project resulting in a book, “Women of Achievement in Maryland History.”
Glendening has held numerous civic and advocacy leadership positions, including honorary chair of the Maryland Finding Justice Project: A History of Women Lawyers in Maryland, co-founder and president of Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, and Senior Fellow and adjunct faculty at the School of Public Policy and the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park. She has served on numerous boards including Women Legislators of Maryland Foundation, Inc., the American Council for Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), the White House Studies Editorial Board, and the National First Ladies’ Library.
Glendening earned a bachelor's degree in Government and Politics and in English, an M.A. from the University of Maryland (College Park), and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Catholic University School of Law, where she served as associate editor of the Law Review. She was born in Baltimore and raised in Cumberland, and is now a long-time resident of Prince George’s County.
“We look forward to working with Ms. Glendening as she brings her unique skill set to our organization,” said MABE President Rodger C. Janssen. "We are confident that her extensive experience and proven leadership are a perfect fit for the association and its member school districts.”
“It is an honor to be chosen MABE’s next executive director. I look forward to building on Dr. Carl Smith’s impressive legacy, and serving Maryland’s school boards as they provide effective local governance in education’s changing, unpredictable environment. I am eager to work with members and those who play an integral role in maintaining Maryland’s status as a state where citizens value excellence in education.”
MABE’s current executive director, Dr. Carl W. Smith, announced his retirement in May 2012. He will continue in the position until Ms. Glendening assumes her new position January 1, 2013.
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