Pearson Elected Vice Chair, Fennell Re-elected Treasurer
WASHINGTON – Stacey Edmonson has been elected as Chair of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Board of Directors. Edmonson was elected at the CAEP Board of Director’s semi-annual meeting and began her term as the CAEP Chair July 1, 2026. In addition to the Edmonson’s election as an officer of the CAEP Board of Directors, Denise Pearson has been elected Vice Chair, and Francis (Skip) Fennell has been re-elected Treasurer. The terms for the newly elected officers run through June 30, 2028.
Edmonson serves the Texas A&M University System as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Place-Based Partnerships, where she advances strategic, cross-sector collaborations that strengthen educator pipelines, expand college access, and drive regional impact. She previously served 12 years as Dean of the College of Education at Sam Houston State University and has been a teacher, principal, and district leader in Texas public schools. She has served as principal investigator for over $13M in external funding and has published six books and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. Her work has shaped innovative teacher residency models, leadership development programs, and initiatives serving rural and underserved communities.
Edmonson is a national leader in educator preparation, currently serving as the Board Chair for American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She has served on the CAEP Board of Directors since July 2025 and has also served as a lead reviewer for CAEP. Edmonson has more than 33 years of progressive leadership in education, she collaborates with policymakers, school districts, and philanthropic partners to advance meaningful change for students.
“Stacey is a nationally recognized leader in educator preparation that will help strategically guide CAEP during her term as Board Chair. She is well respected by her fellow board members, and the educator preparation community as a whole,” said CAEP President Christopher A. Koch. “As an organization, we look forward to working with Stacey, Denise, and Skip and are honored they have agreed to serve as officers for our organization. They are committed to ensuring excellence in educator preparation and have the determination to lead in our commitment to continuous improvement.”
New Officers of the CAEP Board of Directors:
Francis (Skip) Fennell: Fennell is professor of education and Graduate and Professional Studies, emeritus at McDaniel College in Maryland. He is a former classroom teacher, principal, and supervisor of instruction, and past president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the Research Council on Mathematics Learning (RCML), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). He is a recipient of the Mathematics Educator of the Year Award from the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), the Glenn Gilbert National Leadership Award from NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education, the Excellence in Leadership and Service in Mathematics Teacher Education Award from AMTE, the James Heddens Distinguished Service Award from RCML, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from both MCTM and NCTM. In 2018, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from McDaniel College. Skip’s many publications including the recently published The Formative 5: In Action (Corwin, 2024) and Proactive Mathematics Interventions(Corwin, 2026), have been influenced by his classroom experiences and decades long focus on assessment, number sense, fractions, the role and importance elementary mathematics specialists and mathematics teacher leaders, and teacher education.
Denise Pearson: Pearson serves as the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Cheney University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Office of the Chancellor. Pearson was instrumental in transforming the function where she secured a $9 million allocation from the Pennsylvania General Assembly; executed the first-ever systemwide Climate Survey for students, faculty, and staff; oversaw the annual systemwide DEI Summits, initiated systemwide DEI training for students, faculty, and staff; and launched an online dashboard that publishes critical DEI metrics at the system and university levels. She also has a plethora of experience in her roles as Vice President of Academic Affairs at State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), Interim Provost and Assistant Provost at Winston-Salem State University, and Associate Academic Dean at the University of Denver.
The CAEP Board of Directors is responsible for creating CAEP policy, handling appointments to the Accreditation Council and various committees, and reviewing the performance and activities of CAEP. The Board is also responsible for approving the organization’s annual budget and independent audits.
CAEP is a national accrediting body for educator preparation recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Accreditation is a nongovernmental activity based on peer review that serves the dual functions of assuring quality and promoting improvement. Currently, approximately six hundred educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP accreditation system.
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The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (www.CAEPnet.org) advances equity and excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.