Elected by their peers or appointed by PDK International Chief Executive Officer James Lane, the national student leaders are external ambassadors and internal thought leaders who serve in an advisory capacity to the CEO and the Board of Directors. They engage in critical education conversations at the national level to provide a student perspective; serve as Educators Rising representatives at local, state, and national functions; and ensure that Educators Rising students have a voice in program development. These rising educators exemplify the finest qualities of our national network and of the future of the teaching profession.

2023-2024 National Student Officers 

President

Milan Aranda
Northwest Missouri State University
Omaha, Nebraska

Vice President of Communications

Brooke Hess
Sheboygan High School
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Vice President of Engagement

Hailey Calderon
Lafayette County High School
Stamps, Arkansas

Vice President of Service

Taylor Jenkins
University of Delaware
Seaford, Delaware

Are you ready to take your leadership in Educators Rising to the next level? Run for national office! The primary responsibility of the Educators Rising National Officers is to be ambassadors for the organization and the future of the teaching profession. Effective national officers are articulate, self-motivated, outgoing, conscientious students with a passion for the Educators Rising mission and vision who will promote the organization as essential to the cultivation of tomorrow’s great educators.

Moving forward and starting this year, the National Student Officers will give campaign speeches and be selected by the delegates at the Educators Rising National Conference.

Applications to be a 2024-2025 Educators Rising National Officer are open through February 26, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

Ambassador Program

Educators Rising believes in the importance of student voice, and the Educators Rising Ambassador Program is another opportunity for star students to amplify their voices in critical national conversations about teaching and learning. Ambassadors contribute their opinions and experiences on social media and are leaders among their peers.

The Educators Rising Ambassador Program allows you to add leadership experience to your college applications or résumés, have your voice heard on a national level, and network virtually with other rising educators and teachers from across the country. Applications for the National Student Ambassador Program for 2024-2025 will open in August 2024. Interested? Learn more.

2023-2024 National Ambassadors

HIGH SCHOOL

Katelyn Christopherson
Harrisburg High School
South Dakota

Aniah Coleman
Ballard High School
Kentucky

Shae’Aunna Johnson
Many High School
Louisiana

Elizabeth Kaufmann
Sheboygan North High School
Wisconsin

Calvin Plante
Pinkerton Academy Career & Technical Center
New Hampshire

Kali Sieger
Lafayette County High School
Arkansas

Ivy Smith
Cleburne High School
Texas

Sarah Steeves
Appoquinimink High School|
Delaware

Elbert Thomas
Yazoo County High School
Mississippi

Riley Wagner
Sentinel Career and Technology Center
Ohio