ACCESS Board member appointed to chair State Board of Education

June 19, 2008 - Maura Banta, an ACCESS Board member, will assume the position of Chairwoman of the State Board of Education as of July 1st, Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday. Banta has worked on many education reform initiatives and has been a leading champion for greater involvement and engagement by the Massachusetts business community in the improvement of educational opportunities of the state's young people.

Banta will fill the seat previously held by Paul Reville. Reville, in accordance with the new statute creating an Executive Office of Education, will step down as Chair but remain an active member of the board as he assumes his new role as Secretary of Education on July 1st.

“Both Maura and Beverly will bring a solid business background to their new roles, which will be particularly important as we work to prepare our students to compete in the global economy,” said Governor Patrick in a press release. “I know that each will be an exceptional addition to the board.”

Banta is IBM’s East Coast Regional Manager for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, coordinating corporate philanthropy, government relations and community relations. In addition to ACCESS, she is currently sits on the following nonprofit boards: the United Ways of New England, The Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and the John Adams Institute. Maura chairs the Mass Business Alliance for Education Board and serves as a trustee for the Massachusetts Taxpayers’ Foundation. Maura earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Marymount College.

To read the press release from the Governor, click here.