2026-27 MASA President
Superintendent, St. Cloud Area School District
MASA President-Elect
One of my favorite parts of our fall conference was welcoming our new and aspiring superintendents, central office and technology leaders, and MASA Board members. Seeing leaders at every stage of their careers in the same room, learning from one another, is MASA at its best.
To everyone who joined us, thank you for being there. I know what it costs you to step away. The inbox fills, the phone messages pile, your community misses you, and your family needs you. Yet, you came anyway, and you made a difference.
Thank you, too, to the MASA staff, presenters, and sponsors. A conference like this takes months of work that most of us never see, and you did it so the rest of us could simply show up and learn together. We noticed, and we’re grateful.
That time together feels especially important right now. Much of our work happens through screens, and the AI tools keep getting faster and smarter. They can help, and many of us rely on them every day. But the hardest and most important moments in our jobs still happen face to face: sitting with a family in crisis, sensing when a community meeting is about to turn, noticing that a colleague seems worn down. Our work is human, and so is the support that gets us through it.
That’s why I believe showing up in person still matters, maybe now more than ever. When we’re in the same room, we’re reminded that the weight of this job is shared. Leading in public education right now can be lonely. It shouldn’t have to be.
My goal for this year is that no one in this association leads alone. I challenge new and aspiring superintendents and district leaders to find mentors and honest conversation here. I want experienced leaders to find renewal by investing in the people coming up behind them. None of us has every answer, and we’ll find more of them together than we ever will on our own.
If you’re new to this work, we’re glad you’re here. Ask the questions you think are too basic. Reach out when it gets hard. If you’ve been at this a while, thank you for all you’ve given the profession. I ask each of you to find someone just starting out, see a colleague who’s going through it, and call them this month. A cup of coffee or a five-minute check-in can matter more than you’d guess. I know, because someone did that for me.
To echo the theme of our fall conference, “This is the work. Lead on.”
