LM Oct 2021

I A S A P R O U D T O

Advocating for School Administrators Has Been an Honor When I left the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to start a new chapter with IASA, I didn’t anticipate my next goodbye would be 17 years later.

MadelineMcCune: Director of Governmental Relations Bio information

Hometown: Bethalto, IL Current City: Springfield, IL Education: B.S.,Southern Illinois University— Edwardsville (SIUE)

I was entering a new role, a new field of expertise and had to meet an entirely new group of people. As it turned out, all of those unknowns were blessings. Over the past 17 years, I found a home in public education and feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to advocate for school administrators across our state. This state is filled with tremendous leaders who are making a difference in the lives of students and their staff, and I’m happy I could play a role in helping keep unintended consequences out of the classroom and advocating for the passage of important issues and initiatives of the Vision 2020 effort. It has been a tremendous honor to work with Dr. Clark, the IASA team, members of the Governmental Relations and Advocacy Committee and other school administrators across our state. Compared to teachers and principals, our numbers may be small. However, the voice of superintendents carries a lot of weight on legislation and public policy matters. Thank you to everyone who filled out witness slips, testified at the statehouse and reached out to legislators. Your support made my job a lot easier. With that, I feel confident the torch is being passed to two talented people who will push IASA’s advocacy efforts forward. Madeline McCune will serve as Director of Governmental Relations and Emily Warnecke as Director of Public Relations/Deputy Director of Governmental Relations. Madeline comes to IASA from the Illinois House of Representatives, where she served as Research and Budget Analyst. In her duties, she worked directly with lobbyists, agencies and legislators to negotiate education policy. Emily is in her fourth year as superintendent of East Alton SD #13. Adding another superintendent to our team who is passionate about advocating for school leaders and public education will elevate our association and improve services to members. The book isn’t closed quite yet for me. As Dr. Clark jokes, I am now the Senior Director of Governmental Relations until Jan. 1. That means one last veto session and one last hurrah with the Illinois General Assembly. Without a doubt, the final goodbye to lawmakers won’t be nearly as difficult as the one to IASA. Thanks again! –Diane Hendren

We are excited to welcome Madeline McCune to IASA as our newest team member. Below is a short Q&A with Madeline to help you get acquainted with IASA’s new Director of Governmental Relations. Q : Whydoyouwant toworkfor IASA? Education has a huge impact on our daily lives, and I want to be part of the team that is constantly striving to improve educational outcomes and support school leaders. Q : Whatpastexperienceshaveyou hadthatpreparedyoufor this opportunity? For the past five years, I have worked for the Illinois House of Representatives. The experience in the House gave me first-hand insight into the legislative process and committee procedures, and allowed me the opportunity to work one-on- one with elected officials. Q : Whatwill beyour roleandduties withIASA? In my role as Director of Governmental Relations, I will serve as the association’s voice when it comes to educating legislators about educational policy that directly affects districts, along with identifying legislative champions, building and maintaining relationships with elected officials and providing updates to the association regarding the General Assembly.

4 LM October 2021