Quick Links: Application Period | 2023 Fall Ambassador Groups | 2023 Spring Ambassador Groups | About

We hope to open our application period for our 2024 groups in February 2024.

The NASSP Ambassador Program is a members-only program. If you are interested in applying in 2024, please check to make sure that your membership, chapter, or council is active for the 2023-2024 school year.

Check your status by logging into your account on the NASSP, NHS, NJHS or NatStuCo websites or calling Customer Care at (703) 860-0200 or (800) 253-7746.

Please continue to check this page for updates from our current groups and information about 2024.

2023 FALL AMBASSADOR GROUPS

Our Fall 2023 NASSP Ambassadors are working on four projects through early January 2023 that not only benefit from, but require, the leadership of NASSP, National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society and National Student Council members.


Please click on the groups below to see the Ambassadors assigned to each group listed the way they chose to appear.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to learn more about the Ambassador program.

These principals and assistant principals are sharing their experiences, opinions, and candid feedback to guide how NASSP can help provide the best professional learning to school leaders across the nation. They meet monthly online and will build a robust virtual resource library—and things that don’t even exist yet. Ultimately, these Ambassadors get to help create one-of-a-kind professional learning for their peers supported by NASSP.

  • Dr. Alexandria Rios Taylor, Building Principal, Mundelein High School, Mundelein, Illinois
  • Dr. Carolyn Russell-Walker, Principal, Ramsay IB High School, Birmingham, AL
  • Dr. Christopher Mayes, Principal, Sherwood Forest Elementary School, New Orleans, LA
  • Jay Apostol, EdD., Principal, Monett Middle School, Monett, Missouri
  • Jennifer Castillo, Principal, Boston P-8, Aurora, CO
  • Joe Patek, Nicolet Union High School, Glendale, WI
  • Kate Williams, Principal, Cordova Jr/Sr High School, Cordova, AK
  • Keoni Dang, Assistant Principal, Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane, Washington
  • Mrs. Melanie Hackett, Executive Director of Talent Development, South Bend, IN
  • Michael Sedlak, Unit Principal, Hudson High School, Hudson, OH\
  • Omar R. Davis, Associate Principal Operations & Technology, Downers Grove South High School, Downers Grove, Illinois
  • Penny Vess, Assistant Principal, Waimea High School, Waimea, Kauai, HI
  • Ms. Purnima DeMorais, Principal Quabbin Regional Middle High School in Barre, MA
  • Dr. Rhoda Núñez-Donnelly, Assistant Principal, Harper’s Choice Middle School, Columbia, MD
  • Sara Conley, Principal, Pleasanton High School, Pleasanton, KS

Principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders are giving their honest opinions on what it’s like to be a NASSP member and making suggestions for how NASSP could better serve our members. During monthly meetings, Ambassadors take a deep dive into the benefits of NASSP memberships and divulge the support and resources that they’ve dreamed of with the goal of designing memberships that serve school leaders across the nation with the services, products and support they need at a time of educational transformation.

  • Danielle Harrell, Principal, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, VA
  • Elizabeth Brown, Principal, Ocali Charter High School, Ocala, FL
  • Dr. Gene Miller, Principal, Templeton Middle School, Templeton, CA
  • Dr. Gina Ogilvie, NHS & NJHS Coordinator, Blue Ridge Academy, Maricopa, CA
  • Jennifer Andrews-Cox, Resident Principal, Trinity Basin Preparatory Panola, Fort Worth, TX
  • Jessica Rehberg, Principal, Apalachee High School, Winder, GA
  • Joseph Williams, Principal, Spearfish High School, Spearfish, SD
  • Katelyn Rodd, Adviser, Buffalo Creek Middle School, Palmetto, FL
  • Dr. Katy Wagner, Principal, St. Helens High School, St. Helens, OR
  • Dr. Keith Wood, Principal, Brooks Middle School, Bolingbrook, IL
  • Lamark Holley, Assistant Principal, Southampton Middle School, Harford County, MD
  • Mario Balderrama, Vail Academy & High School, Tucson, AZ
  • Richard E. Vasquez, Dean of Academics, NHS Advisor, Holy Cross of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
  • Dr. Sharon U. Slater, Asst. Principal, Ridgeland High School, Ridgeland, MS
  • Yasmen Elhassa, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, Forsan American School, Alexandria, Egypt

Six NHS students and six NatStuCo students unleash their creative powers to revolutionize our student. These Ambassadors monitor trends, idea share, and create video content for the National Honor Society and National Student Council’s social media pages. They also give guidance on products in the NHS and NatStuCo online stores.

  • Alejandro Barona, Marian Baker School, Costa Rica
  • Alina Chen, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ
  • Camille Stinson, Booker T. Washington HSPVA, Dallas, TX
  • Elijah Kennedy, Marshfield High School, Marshfield, MA
  • Gwen Sumners, City High Middle School, Grand Rapids, MI
  • Jana Alnajjar, College of Southern Nevada High School, Las Vegas, NV
  • Krish Putta, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD
  • Laura Chianglin, Sammamish High School, Bellevue, WA
  • Mia Riley, Ada High School, Ada, OK
  • Rachel Wang, Del Norte High School, San Diego, CA
  • Sam Park, Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore, MD
  • Quinn Healey, Commonwealth Charter Academy, Dunmore, PA

These 10 NEHS advisers provide feedback on all things NEHS program, including resources, content, programming, and how-tos during their monthly online meetings. The work they produce will have an impact on how the national office engages with and supports chapters and their schools going forward.

  • Amanda Vu, Mary Moore Elementary, Arlington, TX
  • Amy Singleton, Cottageville Elementary, Cottageville, SC
  • Asiha Stallworth, Longfields Elementary School, Forestville, MD
  • Dana Palmer, Arrowwood Elementary, Highlands Ranch, CO
  • Heather Minore, Diplomat Elementary School, Cape Coral, FL
  • LaNedra Mitchell, Professional School Counselor, NEHS/NJHS Advisor, Schmid Elementary School, Chicago IL
  • Lee-Ann Fink, NEHS Advisor, Stone Lakes Elementary, Orlando, FL
  • Melanie Zamudio, Reading Specialist, Calabasas Elementary School, Rio Rico, AZ
  • Michael Derby, Bookkeeper, Multi-Media Specialist and NEHS Advisor
  • Shunda Howard, National Elementary Honor Society Advisor, Montgomery, AL

These five middle level National Student Council advisers and five high school level National Student Council advisers help build better, more useful resources for councils across the country by sharing their feedback on existing materials and helping create resources that will make the roles of all National Student Council advisers easier. These adviser Ambassadors also help amplify the work and knowledge of other advisers on national level and weigh in on programming opportunities for advisers.

  • Alyssa Kovach, MS SCA Advisor, The Steward School, Richmond, VA
  • Chris Demianew, Leadership Teacher, Sunridge Middle School, Pendleton, OR
  • Christopher H. Tomlin, NatStuCo Advisor, Woodland Regional High School, Beacon Falls, CT
  • Clara Fernández, Secondary StuCo Adviser, Santa Cruz Cooperative School (SCCS), Santa Cruz- Bolivia
  • Jamie Pascua, Middle and High School Student Council Advisor, Student Success Advocate, Sandy Valley Nevada Clark County School District, NV
  • Krystal Lamb, Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School, Lake Worth, FL
  • Lauryn Jenkins, Captain Shreve High School, Shreveport, LA
  • Nakisia Sims, Liberty County High School, Hinesville, GA
  • Phillip Jenkins, Student Council Advisor, Forney High School, Forney, TX
  • Stephanie Rondeau, Murdoch High School, Winchendon, MA

Eight NHS and NJHS advisers give feedback on onboarding resources that would be beneficial for new advisers, including how to increase diversity and equity in the selection process, and ways to promote adviser recognition and programming. These Advisers also explore ideas for adviser recognition and programming for professional learning.

  • Andrew Messer-Hinton, National Honor Society Advisor, McKinney, TX
  • Chelsea Lee, Gooding High School, Gooding, ID
  • Diane L. Thomas, English Instructor/NHS Adviser, Primavera Online High School, Chandler, AZ
  • Jamie Hilton, Bessie Coleman Academy, Jacksonville, FL
  • Jennifer Zigler, School Counselor & NJHS Adviser, Owen Valley Middle School, Spencer, IN
  • Nicholas Amster, Spanish Teacher & NJHS Co-Adviser, JHS 190 – Russell Sage, Forest Hills, NY
  • Ralph Hernandez, Darien High School, Darien, CT
  • Vintonya Belcer, Washington County High School, Plymouth, NC

Spring 2023 Ambassador Program

Our spring 2023 NASSP Ambassadors are working on four projects through July 2023 that not only benefit from, but require, the leadership of NASSP, National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society and National Student Council members. These Ambassadors were selected by NASSP staff after a two-week online application period and review of more than 1,400 applications.

Please click on the groups below to see the Ambassadors assigned to each group listed the way they chose to appear.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to learn more about the Ambassador program.

Principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders are giving their honest opinions on what it’s like to be a NASSP member and making suggestions for how NASSP could better serve our members. During monthly meetings, Ambassadors take a deep dive into the benefits of NASSP memberships and divulge the support and resources that they’ve dreamed of with the goal of designing memberships that serve school leaders across the nation with the services, products and support they need at a time of educational transformation.

  • Christopher Wong, Student Council Advisor, Fleming Middle School, Houston, Texas
  • Danielle Harrell, Principal, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, Virginia
  • Elizabeth Brown, Principal, Ocali Charter High School, Ocala, Florida
  • Dr. Gene Miller, Principal, Templeton Middle School, Templeton, California
  • Dr. Gina Ogilvie, NHS & NJHS Coordinator, Blue Ridge Academy, Maricopa, California
  • Jennifer Andrews-Cox, Resident Principal, Trinity Basin Preparatory Panola, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Jessica Rehberg, Principal, Apalachee High School, Winder, Georgia
  • Joe Williams, Assistant Principal, Sturgis Brown High School, Sturgis, South Dakota
  • Katelyn Rodd, Adviser, Buffalo Creek Middle School, Palmetto, Florida
  • Dr. Katy Wagner, Principal, St. Helens High School, St. Helens, Oregon
  • Dr. Keith Wood, Principal, Brooks Middle School, Bolingbrook, Illinois
  • Lamark Holley, Assistant Principal, Southampton Middle School, Harford County, Maryland
  • Richard E. Vasquez, Dean of Academics, NHS Advisor, Holy Cross of San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
  • Yasmen Elhassa, Director of Curriculum & Professional Development, Forsan American School, Alexandria, Egypt

These National Honor Society students are helping NHS’s social get a glow up—creating video content, following a NASSP-provided schedule. When they aren’t producing content, they’re helping NASSP select products for the NHS online stores, giving feedback on marketing ideas and guiding our efforts toward making our student programs more engaging and inclusive during 60-minute monthly online meetings.

  • Brady Kuebler, Student, Nation Ford High School, Fort Mill, South Carolina
  • Demetria Delp, Student, American Heritage, Palm Beach Campus, Delray Beach, Florida
  • Demian Estrada, Student, Harmony Science Academy, El Paso, Texas
  • Dominic De La Torre, Student, Del Norte High School, San Diego, California
  • Bella Sonen, Student, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Joseph Staller, Student, Council Rock High School South, Holland, Pennsylvania
  • Moyisola Esther Akinwande, Student, Newark Collegiate Academy, Newark, New Jersey
  • Nayounghee Tuetkin, Student, V.R. Eaton High School, Haslet, Texas
  • Sarah Chianglin, Student, Sammamish High School, Bellevue, Washington
  • Sarah Soto Casado, Student, Saint George School, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • Zoe Roettger, Student, Mahtomedi High School, Mahtomedi, Minnesota

These principals and assistant principals are sharing their experiences, opinions, and candid feedback to guide how NASSP can help provide the best professional learning to school leaders across the nation. They meet monthly online and will build a robust virtual resource library—and things that don’t even exist yet. Ultimately, these Ambassadors get to help create one-of-a-kind professional learning for their peers supported by NASSP.

  • Dr. Alexandria Rios Taylor, Building Principal, Mundelein High School, Mundelein, Illinois
  • Dr. Carolyn Russell-Walker, Principal, Ramsay IB High School, Birmingham, Alabama
  • Dr. Christopher B. Mayes, Principal, Einstein Charter School at Sherwood Forest, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Dr. Erick Alfonso, Principal, Bogota Middle School, Bogota, NJ
  • Jay Apostol, EdD., Principal, Monett Middle School, Monett, Missouri
  • Jennifer Castillo, Assistant Principal, North Middle School, Aurora, Colorado
  • Joe Patek, Principal, Nicolet Union High School, Glendale, Wisconsin
  • Kate Williams, Principal, Cordova Jr/Sr High School, Cordova, Alaska
  • Keoni Dang, Assistant Principal, Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane, Washington
  • Mrs. Melanie Hackett, Principal, South Bend Community School Corporation, South Bend, Indiana
  • Michael Sedlak, Unit Principal, Hudson High School, Hudson, Ohio
  • Omar R. Davis, Associate Principal Operations & Technology, Downers Grove South High School, Downers Grove, Illinois
  • Penny Vess, Assistant Principal, Waimea High School, Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii
  • Ms. Purnima DeMorais, Principal, Quabbin Regional Middle High School, Barre, Massachusetts
  • Sara Conley, Principal, Pleasanton High School, Pleasanton, Kansas

Principals, assistant principals, advisers, and students (from National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society and National Student Council) provide feedback through online surveys on NASSP’s student programs, publications, recognition programs, advocacy and more to give NASSP a deeper understanding of what’s needed now and what could be improved for these Ambassadors and their peers. It also informs adjustments that need to be made to the Ambassador Program.

  • Mario Balderrama, Assistant Principal, Vail Academy and High School, Tucson, Arizona
  • Alejandro Barona, Student, Marian Baker School, Curridabat, San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Anish Basappa, Student, Bridgeland High School, Cypress, Texas
  • Dr. Asdrey A. Irizarry Arroyo, Dean of Students, Young Ambassadors Academy, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  • Austin Stokes, Student, McAdory High School, McCalla, Alabama
  • Brian E. Cox, Principal, Verona Area High School, Verona, Wisconsin
  • Dr. Christopher Allen, High School Coordinating Principal, Sekolah Ciputra, Surabaya, Indonesia
  • Diane Fox, Assistant Principal, Hampton Bays Middle School, Hampton Bays, New York
  • Divya Adams, Student, Health Professions and Human Services High School, Manhattan, New York
  • Emily Boudreaux, Student, University View Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Eric Filardi, Principal, Anderson School, Anderson, Alaska
  • George Raley, NHS Adviser, Northwood High School, Pittsboro, North Carolina
  • Guha Sriram, Student, Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, California
  • Hannah Freeman, Student, Piedra Vista High School, Farmington, New Mexico
  • Dr. Jared Schneider, NJHS Advisor, Butler Area School District, Butler, Pennsylvania
  • Dr. Lisa Stevenson, Secondary Principal, Columbus Junction, Iowa
  • Lorelei Jackson, NJHS Adviser, Denver Language School, Denver, Colorado
  • Lucía Rodezno, Principal, Macris School, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
  • Maurice Grant, Vice Principal, Bronx-Manhattan SDA School, Bronx, New York
  • Melissa Arendts, 9th Academy Principal, Romeo, Michigan
  • Michael Conklin, Principal, Eldred Junior Senior High School, Eldred, New York
  • Michael Derby, Family School Liaison and NEHS Advisor, Astatula Elementary School, Astatula, Florida
  • Michael J. Moffett, Ed.S., Assistant Principal of Curriculum, AVID, and FAME, New Manchester High School, Douglasville, GA
  • Noemi Juliana Florian Perez, Student, Times Squared Academy, Providence, Rhode Island
  • Nylah Wilmington, NJHS Student, Murray Language Academy, Chicago, Illinois
  • Dr. Rhoda Núñez-Donnelly, Assistant Principal, Harper’s Choice Middle School, Columbia, Maryland
  • Roben Lepore, Secular Principal, Torah Day School of Houston, Houston, Texas
  • Scott T. Macdowall, Science Chair and Student Senate Advisor, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut
  • Sean G. Peterson, Student, Marion County High School, Lebanon, Kentucky
  • Shannon Mahiai, Assistant Principal, King George Middle School, King George, Virginia
  • Dr. Sharon U. Slater, Assistant Principal, Ridgeland High School, Ridgeland, Mississippi
  • Shunda Howard, Adviser, Catoma Elementary, Montgomery, Alabama
  • Susan Paul, Principal, Kaiserslautern Middle School, Kaiserslautern, Germany
  • Taj’a T. Board, NJHS Advisor, Indian Avenue School, Bridgeton, New Jersey
  • Taylor Cox, Assistant Principal, West Clermont High School, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • William Baylis II, Principal, Reynoldsburg High School/Livingston Campus, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

ABOUT THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

The mission of this program squarely aligns with NASSP’s mission of supporting and developing courageous school leaders and student leaders. We want our Ambassadors to reach their full potential just like we want to empower them to help all students to reach their full potential. We strive to provide the best support, opportunities and guidance that we can through this program.

NASSP ran a pilot Ambassador Program in 2022 with six projects that involved the voices of principals, advisers and students to support our mission of lifting school and student leader voices and empowering school leaders and students to lead our work.

These project groups achieved much together:

  • The National Survey of School Leaders & Students group co-created NASSP’s Survey of America’s School Leaders and High School Students.
  • Members of the Campaign on Principal Pipeline group participated in a panel in the National Principals Month policy forum and participated in a policy briefing and networking luncheon to recognize the incredible work of school leaders and discuss legislation and policy that can strengthen the profession.
  • Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Recognition Programs Ambassadors provided input about the application and process for our POY and APOY programs which led to changes that are in place today.
  • NHS, NJHS and NEHS Advisers in the NHS Program Policies and Resource group developed posts to help other advisers and chapters which appear on our School of Thought Blog and helped with the redesign of the adviser checklist for NHS and helped create a new checklist for NJHS.
  • The Principal Leadership Review Project Ambassadors wrote summaries of books for Principal Leadership’s Syllabus section that were published in the September and October editions.
  • Wallace Foundation Project Ambassador added voice and perspective to “How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research”.

In 2023, we’re learning from that initial run and building upon its successes. We’re seeking Ambassadors’ input to improve our services and products so that we can better serve leaders in classrooms everywhere.

We’re also helping them build connections with other Ambassadors, members, and NASSP staff and providing more opportunities to become engaged in our events, networks, and webinars.

To our Ambassadors of the 2022 and 2023 cohorts, we sincerely thank you for being a part of this process, putting your trust in us, and letting us elevate your voices.