School Board Members

Cristina Diaz-Torres joined the Arlington School Board on January 1, 2021, and serves as Chair. Cristina is a former teacher and education policy specialist with experience in the classroom, who gets the data, and who believes every student has a right to succeed. She is a longtime advocate for students in Arlington and has previously served on several key Arlington School Board and County Board commissions including the Budget Advisory Council, Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, and the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission. Cristina is a proud, bilingual and bi-cultural Latina born in Boston and raised between New England and her family’s native San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Before being elected to the School Board, Cristina was a preschool assistant teacher in New York City and a high school math teacher in Las Vegas, where she experienced firsthand how policy plays out in schools. She later became an education policy consultant supporting school districts, state education agencies, and education organizations across the country to improve student outcomes by creating evidence-based systems and policies. Her previous work also includes helping teachers in Puerto Rico get back to school in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and managing a grant program for teacher-leaders in Massachusetts dedicated to addressing inequity in their schools.  Now, Cristina works at a leadership development organization, helping civic and elected leaders eradicate educational inequities across the country. Cristina is a graduate of New York University with dual majors in Economics and History and holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas specializing in Secondary Mathematics. She is fluent in both English and Spanish and lives in Crystal City.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: cristina.diaztorres@apsva.us / school.board@apsva.us

Term expires December 31, 2024

David Priddy joined the School Board on January 1, 2021, and currently serves as the Vice Chair. A native Arlingtonian, he attended Arlington Public Schools: Long Branch Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and Wakefield High School. He graduated from James Madison University in 1996 with a degree in History. David and his wife Melanie have two boys in middle and High School. He has coached basketball, baseball, and soccer and, through this experience, has gained an appreciation of the rich sports programs available to our children.

As part of his commitment to all parents and children in Arlington, David has served on various local committees and organizations focused on education, giving him greater insight into the concerns of the whole Arlington community. David has served on the following committees and organizations: President of the Jefferson Middle School PTA, a member of the Advisory Council on Instruction, the NAACP Education Committee, the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Equity and Excellence, the County Council of PTAs, and the Building Level Planning Committee for the Career Center Expansion, among others.

Most of his professional career has been in the vertical transportation industry, where he managed branches in Santa Barbara, Burbank, and Northern Virginia.  He brings an aptitude for managing budgets, and multimillion-dollar operations, working with labor unions, transforming sustainability solutions into everyday practice, and dealing with various aspects of construction.

David’s business experience has uniquely positioned him to represent APS and move the school system forward in a positive direction. He has had a front-row seat to four decades of changes and the remaining challenges Arlington County faces.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: david.priddy@apsva.us / school.board@apsva.us

Term expires December 31, 2024

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 masters 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 masters 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 at JED, 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. pies.

Office Phone: 703-228-6015
Email: mary.kadera@apsva.us / school.board@apsva.us

Term expires December 31, 2025

Miranda Turner recently joined the School Board on January 1, 2024.  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 also has a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and practices law at a firm in Washington, D.C. 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 participated as a member of the Montessori Public School of Arlington PTA. She was a member of the Early Childhood Advisory Committee to 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: miranda.turner@apsva.us / school.board@apsva.us

Term expires December 31, 2027

Bethany Zecher Sutton joined the School Board on January 1, 2023.  She is a proud Arlington resident of more than 21 years. With two children in Arlington Public Schools (11th grader at HB Woodlawn and 8th grade at Thomas Jefferson Middle 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 she currently is a member of the Columbia Pike Partnership’s Community Advisory Council.

Bethany’s professional background includes nearly 25 years’ experience in higher education. She worked for 17 years at a national higher education non-profit organization with a focus on improving the quality of undergraduate education. More recently, Bethany has worked 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: bethany.zechersutton@apsva.us / school.board@apsva.us

Term expires December 31, 2026