The Montgomery County Council has tapped a former school board president to serve out the remainder of At-Large Council member Gabe Albornoz’s term.
Shebra Evans has been sworn in as the 11th council member after her appointment was approved unanimously during Tuesday’s council session.
Evans, who served on the Montgomery County Board of Education for eight years, is temporarily filling the seat vacated by Albornoz.
“After a thorough interview process, the Council is confident that Shebra Evans will serve the people of Montgomery County with integrity, curiosity, and fairness in this caretaker role,” Council President Natali Fani-González said in a news release.
Albornoz announced in October he was stepping down and moving over to serve as the head of the county’s Department of Recreation with about a year left in his second term.
His last day on the council was Dec. 1.
Evans will serve out the remainder of Albornoz’s term through Dec. 1, 2026.
In accepting the appointment, Evans has agreed not to run for the council seat when her term ends.
Evans served for eight years on the Montgomery County Board of Education. For two of those years, she served as school board president.
“With eight years of experience as a former Board of Education member, who worked in collaboration with many local and state leaders as well as residents, I will be hitting the ground running at the Council,” Evans said in a news release. “I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues on the issues that are important to community members.”
The council had previously shared it received 67 applications to fill the vacant seat and narrowed it down to three applicants last week.
Ahead of her appointment, Evans wrote about her experience on the school board in a letter to the council dated Nov. 4.
“I developed extensive expertise in budgetary oversight, legislative collaboration, and public policy development, always grounded in a commitment to equity and shared prosperity,” she wrote before being selected by the council.
In the letter, Evans argued those skills would serve her well on the council.
“This experience has uniquely prepared me to step in and serve with knowledge of county systems, long standing relationships across agencies, and a record of good governance. I had to ensure every investment in our schools would strengthen the workforce, families and the community, so my focus as a policymaker was always on connecting education to the broader economic and social well-being of our county,” Evans wrote.
Evans lives in Glenmont with her family, according to a news release.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan and Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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