School Board Members

Bethany Zecher Sutton joined the School Board on January 1, 2023, and serves as the Chair.  

She is a proud Arlington resident of more than 24 years. Her older child attended Randolph Elementary School and HB Woodlawn and is now a second-year student at Dickinson College. Bethany’s younger child attended Randolph and Thomas Jefferson Middle School and is now a junior at Wakefield High School.

Bethany’s journey with APS began in 2011 at Randolph Elementary School, where she served as a PTA board member for 7 years, including 3 years as PTA President. In 2018, Bethany joined the Advisory Council on Teaching & Learning (ACTL), which she chaired in 2021-22 and fall 2022. Within ACTL, she participated on several subcommittees, including the Advisory Committee on English Learners, the Math Advisory Committee, and the Career, Technical & Adult Education Advisory Committee. She also served on the APS South Arlington Working Group in 2015. In 2021-22, Bethany served on the Arlington County Food Security Task Force and has been a member of the Columbia Pike Partnership’s Community Advisory Council.

Bethany’s professional background includes more than 28 years’ experience in higher education. She worked at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Arlington, where she spent 17 years at a national higher education non-profit organization with a focus on improving the quality of undergraduate education. She also served as a consultant for a higher education executive search firm. Currently, Bethany works as a leadership coach and consultant, specializing in leadership development for women in higher education and nonprofit organizations.

For service to the Randolph PTA and leadership for the Randolph Food Pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bethany received the APS Honored Citizen Award in 2021 and the Distinguished County Service Award in 2020 from Volunteer Arlington & the Leadership Center for Excellence.

Bethany’s educational background includes a graduate certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University; a master’s degree in history from UMass-Amherst, and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Mary Washington.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Term expires December 31, 2026

Miranda Turner joined the School Board on January 1, 2024, and serves as Vice-Chair.

Miranda grew up in Washington, D.C. and is the daughter of a Barrett Elementary, Kenmore Middle, and Wakefield High School alum. She attended Brown University, graduating with a degree in public policy and playing volleyball.

While in college, Miranda spent a semester attending Bank Street College of Education and student-teaching second grade. Miranda has a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and is a practicing lawyer. She has lived in Arlington since 2014 and has three children attending Arlington Public Schools.

Prior to joining the School Board, Miranda helped establish the Drew PTA in 2019 and belonged to the Montessori Public School of Arlington PTA. She was a member of the Early Childhood Advisory Committee of the Advisory Council on Teaching & Learning, was on the board of the advocacy group Arlington Parents for Education, and served on the Executive Committee for the Green Valley Civic Association, including as a delegate to the Civic Federation.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Term expires December 31, 2027

Mary Kadera joined the Arlington County School Board on January 1, 2022.

Mary has been a lifelong advocate for public education and is herself a proud graduate of Virginia’s public education system, from kindergarten through her master’s degree.

She attended Fairfax County Public Schools and the College of William and Mary, double-majoring in English and Biology and then teaching both subjects at the high school level in Winchester and Charlottesville. Her master’s degree is in American Studies from UVA.

Mary left the classroom to work at PBS in the early days of the Internet, where she developed online content and programs for K-12 teachers and students. Eventually, she led PBS’s national education division, overseeing its federal grant programs and coordinating and supporting the work of more than 300 local member stations. After leaving PBS, she consulted with a variety of national education nonprofits, helping them to analyze and advocate for good education policy; understand the needs of families, staff and students; and launch and improve programs for school leaders, teachers and young people. She now works for a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting mental health and preventing suicide among young people.

Mary and her husband Fraser have been married since 2004 and moved from Alexandria to Arlington in 2013. They have two children: one is a junior at Yorktown and the other is a freshman at HB Woodlawn. Things Mary no longer has a lot of time for but really enjoys include reading novels, quilting, camping, and baking pies.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Term expires December 31, 2025

Kathleen Clark joined the School Board on January 1, 2025.

As a native Arlingtonian, Kathleen attended Arlington Public Schools: Taylor and Tuckahoe, Swanson, and Yorktown High School. She graduated from East Carolina University in 1999 with dual degrees in Business Management and Spanish. Kathleen and her husband, Luke, have three children in APS, one at each level – Cardinal Elementary School, Swanson Middle School, and Arlington Tech High School. Their children are involved in Scouting American and Arlington Soccer Association and participate in the numerous activities offered by Therapeutic Recreation, part of Arlington County Department of Parks & Recreation.

Kathleen has been a dedicated community leader and advocate over the last 6 years, pushing for systematic improvements for students with disabilities in APS. She has served as Vice-Chair of the Strategic Plan Steering Committee and on the Board of Directors for the Arlington Special Education PTA, as well as supported the 2021 Planning Factors work on inclusion. Kathleen and her family are also active members with the Dominion Hills Civic Association, where she also served on the Board of Directors for several years.

Professionally, Kathleen has been an internal auditor for Gap Inc. for sixteen years, performing compliance auditing, reviewing end-to-end organizational processes, and assessing risk and its impact throughout the organization. She served as Co-Chair of Parents@GapInc. Equality & Belonging Group, connecting caregivers with programming and resources. Kathleen’s experience analyzing processes, budgets, and systemwide governance along with her compassion, leadership and community building will be key in providing thoughtful, deliberate decision-making as a school board member.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Term expires December 31, 2028

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley joined the School Board on January 1, 2025.

Zuraya is a relentless advocate for equity, opportunity, and community power. A proud product of public schools in the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area, she was elected to the Arlington School Board in November 2024, bringing with her over two decades of grassroots advocacy, public service, and policy expertise.

A 20-year Arlingtonian, Zuraya lives in Green Valley with her family and is raising two middle schoolers in APS’s Dual Language Immersion program. Her local leadership runs deep — from supporting fellow immigrant families and championing Latino parent engagement in APS, to serving on the EdTech Committee. She now serves as Vice-Chair of the APS Policy Committee. She has and continues to be a fierce voice for inclusion and access every step of the way.

Her commitment to community empowerment goes back over 15 years through hands-on work with organizations like the Shirlington Employment and Education Center and Kitchen of Purpose (LaCocinaVA). She’s collaborated with elected officials and community leaders on key issues including immigration, labor rights, and education equity.

Appointed by two Virginia Governors to the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, she has traveled across the Commonwealth advising on policy impacting Latino communities and helping shape the state’s response to real-world challenges.

Zuraya began her career as an attorney and spent over a decade in the nonprofit sector, including as Executive Director of the Hispanic National Bar Association. There, she led national initiatives expanding access to legal services, promoting diversity in the federal judiciary, and advocating for systemic reform. She later transitioned to the private sector, where she’s served as a senior Government and Public Affairs advisor for Fortune 50 tech and media companies — driving high-impact policy strategies, leading cross-functional teams, and brokering multi-million dollar partnerships with national advocacy groups to invest in education and community development across the U.S.

Zuraya holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law from Georgetown University Law Center and an undergraduate law degree from the Universidad de las Américas, Puebla.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Term expires December 31, 2028