Press Release - Announcement

July 18, 2003/NTHF
CONTACT: Mark Gillespie, 1-800-96TEACH

Teachers Hall of Fame adds four new trustees.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame Board of Trustees welcomes four new members this month. The board is comprised of 36 educational leaders, corporate donors and Hall of Fame members inducted over the past ten years.

Meeting once a year, the board promotes the mission of the Hall of Fame on the national level.

This year's new trustees are:

Thomas J. Callahan, senior vice president for marketing, Sodexho. A 21 year veteran of Sodexho's school services division, Callahan is presently responsible for managing the company's national school marketing and communications program.

David F. Lussier, Manager of Education Reform Initiatives for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. A Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 2000, Lussier is a leading advocate for national board certification. Lussier has also been a social studies teacher and associate director of educational policy for the White House.

Jane Bray Nelson, physics teacher at University high School in Orlando, Fla. And a 2002 inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Nelson has also been named Florida Science Teacher of the Year and a Disney American Teacher. She has also been given the United States Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Beth Wray, President of the Pearson Learning Group, a leading publisher of supplemental materials for grades preK-12. With 10 years of experience as a special education teacher before entering the publishing industry, Wray has held a succession of leadership positions with Scholastic Instructional Publishing Group, Globe Fearon and Pearson.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded Emporia in 1989 to honor preK-12 teachers and the teaching profession through a recognition program and museum. Annual induction recognition takes place in Emporia and Washington, DC Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 60 educators from 25 states have been inducted.