Board Biographies

There are nine members on the DC State Board of Education who are directly elected by voters within the District. Board members’ terms are four years and are staggered so no more than five board members are selected in any one election. To learn about our committee assignments, please visit the Committee Assignments page.

 

 

 

SY2021–2022 Student Representatives

(From left to right: Liv Birnstad, Skye-Ali Johnson, and Juliana Lopez)

Liv Birnstad is a junior at Capital City Public Charter School. She is a varsity member of her school’s policy debate team and has received speaking awards at the national level. She has been a leader for Capital City’s QTSA (Queer and Trans Student Alliance) for three years, and has assisted in building and leading school-wide professional developments centered around fostering inclusivity for LGBTQIA+ students and staff. Outside of school, Liv works at a Taekwondo studio and is a first degree black belt.

Skye-Ali Johnson is a senior and student-leadership ambassador at Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts in Washington, DC. She has been lead anchor in the school NewsCast, producing weekly segments since 2018. Skye-Ali has completed multiple investigative writing projects and has been published in The Urban Health Media Project and Medshadow. Skye-Ali has also co-hosted Raise DC and StriveTogether events, advocating on the behalf of youth for more affordable access to creative programs. She is active in other community work, such as a Design Apprenticeship Program with the National Building Museum; teaming up with ABC7 news to host a virtual Martin Luther King Day celebration; and she has reported on food desertification and contrast of the uneven distribution of full-service grocery stores in the low-income wards (Ward 7 and Ward 8) of the District of Columbia. Skye-Ali is a native Washingtonian and a passionate advocate for the people who reside in the lower income wards of Washington DC. She will be continuing to research and identify resources to assist members in her community and aspires to make an impact in multimedia journalism.

Juliana Lopez is a junior at Columbia Heights Educational Campus. She is a Principal's Honor Roll student as well as a part of The Young Women's Project: Youth Justice Campaign. Juliana plans on earning a Child Development Associate Credential, becoming an elementary school teacher, and studying public administration.  

As Student Representatives, Birnstad, Johnson, and Lopez will also co-chair the 2021–22 Student Advisory Committee (SAC), a group of students from District high schools who serve as the voice of students in the State Board’s work.