Columbus, OH (May 22, 2018)

Business Professionals of America Inc. (BPA) is pleased to announce the appointment of six new members to its Board of Trustees, four of which will serve three-year terms, and two will serve a one-year term each. Joining the Board of Trustees for a three-year term of service are Athena Frank, Post-secondary Division Advisor, Natasha Smith, Secondary Division Advisor, and Shauna Williams, State Supervisor. Both Dominica Chavez, Secondary National President, and Skylar McArthur, Post-secondary National President, will serve one-year terms during their service on the BPA National Officer Team. BPA is also pleased to recognize its new slate of executive officers which includes Chair of the Board, Cedric Bandoh, Vice-Chair, Symone Gamble, Treasurer, Mark Burch, as well as Secretary, Debbie Darnell, also a newly elected board member.

BPA’s newly elected Board Chair, Cedric Bandoh, who is the Chief of Staff to Global Head & Vice President of Personal Systems Software Engineering for HP, will be the youngest serving Chair in the organizations history.

“As a product of this organization, I am immensely honored to serve as the Chair of the National Board of Trustees, because I know the power of BPA,” Bandoh said. “I developed critical leadership skills that put me on a path of success in college and now in my professional career. My focus will be to work together with my colleagues to support our phenomenal Executive Director as we continue to create more opportunities for our students to succeed.”

Symone Gamble, Marketing Communications Lead at Google is also a BPA alumnus and former National Officer, and will now serve as the Vice-chair of the Board. Mark Burch, Program Specialist and Oklahoma BPA Student Advisor for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, will serve as the Treasurer, and Debbie Darnell, Indiana State Advisor & Director for Indiana Business Professionals of America will serve as Secretary. As Immediate Past Chair, Patrick Schultz will serve a one-year term as an ex-officio member of the board for the 2018-2019 membership year.

“I know I speak on behalf of everyone at BPA when I say that we are extremely pleased to welcome these outstanding leaders to our Board of Trustees. Their dedication, commitment, and depth of experience will do much to strengthen our organization. Each of them has a reputation for collaborative leadership and a deep commitment to the students we serve,” said LouAnn Ross, BPA Executive Director/CEO.

In addition to recognizing the newest members of the Board of Trustees, BPA would also like to expresses its appreciation for the dedicated service of the four outgoing members who have completed their terms, Kareena Garg, Amber McNew, Dr. Brenda Jacobsen, and Jacob Taylor.

For more information about the BPA Board of Trustees, click here.