Board Biographies

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

 

SY2025–2026 Student Representatives

(From left to right: Nyla Dinkins, Perry Pixley Chamberlain, Issa Ouarid, and Sitara Mazumdar)

Nyla Dinkins is a senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School who strives to bring passion, poise, and purpose to everything she does. She is a two-time national finalist for Poetry Out Loud, and 2024/2025 district champion. She also serves as a Team Leader for the Policy Debate Team, a proud member of the Model UN Team, and an AP Scholar who holds membership in both the National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society. Outside of school, Nyla is a dedicated mentee in the Aspen Institute’s Our Future Is Science program, where she bridges science and social justice to inspire meaningful change. With plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in international policy and eventually earn my J.D., Nyla is setting her sights on a career in international law, where she hopes to advocate for justice on a global scale.

Perry Pixley Chamberlain is a senior at School Without Walls and a proud D.C. native committed to helping build strong public education for students citywide. As a student representative, Perry looks forward to fostering thoughtful policy debate from a student perspective. She has sought to learn about education approaches and issues through different roles, including working with the D.C. Public Schools’ (DCPS) Becoming initiative to support whole-child education practices, as well as teaching elementary-age students through the Freshfarm FoodPrints and Urban ForestKids programs. She has also worked in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to help create opportunities for youth personal and professional development. During her downtime, Perry enjoys sewing and taking long walks.

Issa Ouarid is a senior at Coolidge High School with big dreams in both railway engineering and politics. He has been passionate about trains since three-years-old, especially Amtrak, and hopes to one day drive and design high-speed trains that connect communities across the country. His goals also include going into public office as an adult to advocate for youth, infrastructure, and policies that build a more connected and equitable future. He is currently working hard in school to prepare for both tracks of engineering and leadership. 

Sitara Mazumdar is a senior at BASIS DC. In her time as a student representative, she hopes to engage in discussions with students and policymakers alike across the city to forward perspectives of DC students. As the captain of the BASIS DC Policy Debate Team, a highly competitive varsity debater on the national circuit, and a three-time Tournament of Champions bid winner, she spends her rounds advocating for disability justice within policymaking and for the prioritization of disabled epistemologies within academia. Outside of her policy work, Sitara enjoys playing the violin at the Levine School of Music, crocheting, and listening to horror podcasts.