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Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) named Juanita Miller, a former state delegate, to succeed Alvin Thornton as the chair of Prince George’s County Board of Education.
“Dr. Miller has a vast amount of experience in school administration and working with various agencies that interact with our school system,” Alsobrooks said in a statement on Friday. “We are excited that she is bringing her exceptional leadership skills back to our school system to serve our students, teachers and families.”
Miller represented Prince George’s 25th district as a state delegate in the late 1980s. During her tenure, she was the chair of the Prince George’s County Affairs Committee, chair of the Women’s Caucus Legislative Committee and chair of the Black Caucus’ Business Roundtable Conference.
Miller had also been an administrator for Prince George’s County public schools, as well as a liaison between the school system and government and private agencies. For the last eight years, she has been the CEO of JD Miller Associates, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Outside of the school system, Miller has served on the executive board of Prince George’s County NAACP and was the chair of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the first African American woman to hold that position.
“It is truly a distinct honor that the County Executive has requested me to serve in this position. I thank her for the confidence she has in my leadership skills and community service,” Miller said in a statement.
“I’d also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Thornton who has done a great job in leading the Board during his most recent tenure. I am looking forward to continuing the work that he has done, in partnership with Dr. Goldson, the current Board Members, and PGCPS staff, parents, students and community stakeholders that trust us to work in the best interest of our County.”
Thornton, a long time education advocate who led a significant statewide commission on school funding in the early 2000s, had led Prince George’s board of education for the last two years. He announced his resignation last month.
Alsobrooks also named Sonya Williams, who has been a member of the Prince George’s County Board of Education since 2014, to serve as the vice chair.
“I look forward to continuing to serve the PGCPS students, staff and families,” Williams said in a statement. “As we work through this unusual moment in time, my focus is to work with the new Chair of the Board to be strategic with our resources, focused on being effective with our limited funding and to lead with student’s academic success at the forefront.”
