Board of Directors

BrightWorks, a nonprofit educational cooperative, was established in 1976 by the Minnesota Legislature to provide cost-effective, high-quality education services and programs to public schools/districts, private schools, and nonprofits in the Twin Cities metro area. This organization is member-driven and governed by a Representative Assembly and an Executive Board.

Representative Assembly

The Representative Assembly consists of one representative from each member district. Assembly members are current school board members appointed to the Assembly by their district’s board. As a unit, the Representative Assembly forms the governing body of BrightWorks and is regulated by laws applicable to independent school districts in Minnesota.

Member Representation

The Twin Cities region is divided into four Electoral Districts to ensure equal representation by member districts in the governance of the organization. Electoral Districts are determined by the following quadrants: I-35W (north/south) and I-94 extending to I-394 and Highway 12 (east/west). District Office determines placement in an electoral district.

Executive Board

The Executive Board consists of eight Representative Assembly members, two from each electoral district, who have been elected to serve by their peers from other member school districts in their electoral district. Up to three appointed member district administrators and up to three appointed citizen representatives may also serve on the Board. Members serve two consecutive three-year terms with an option to continue, pending review.

Executive Board Members

Carol Bomben (Policy) — Community Representative
Andrea Cuene (Policy Vice Chair) — Community Representative
Kacy Deschene — Representative Assembly member, Anoka-Hennepin School Board, representing Electoral District 1
Jessica Ellison — Representative Assembly member, White Bear Lake School Board, representing Electoral District 1
Karen Gabler (Clerk) — Representative Assembly member, Edina, representing Electoral District 3
Bill Harvey (Chair) — Community Representative
Sarah Johansen (Policy) — Representative Assembly member, Wayzata School Board, representing Electoral District 4
Deborah M. Pauly (Treasurer) — Representative Assembly member, Jordan, representing Electoral District 4
Laura Oksnevad — Representative Assembly member, St. Anthony-New Brighton School District, representing Electoral District 2
Paula Cole — Representative Assembly member, Richfield School District, representing Electoral District 3

Annual Meeting

An Annual Meeting is held in conjunction with a regularly scheduled meeting of the Executive Board. Representative Assembly members are invited to attend; attendance is not mandatory.

Meeting Schedule

The Executive Board meets a minimum of five times during the fiscal year (June 30 through July 1). Please email Angela Skrade at angela.skrade@brightworksmn.org if you would like to attend an upcoming meeting.

All meetings will be held at BrightWorks (2 Pine Tree Drive, Suite 101, Arden Hills, Minnesota, 55112) from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.