Georgia School Boards Association
Jeannie "Sis" Henry
Executive Director
Georgia School Boards Association
Jeannie Henry has spent the last 36 years as a steadfast advocate of public education. Her experiences range from the classroom to the central office and 22 years with the South Carolina School Boards Association. She “came home to Georgia” in September 2001 and currently serves as the executive director of the Georgia School Boards Association.
Under her leadership at GSBA, a new strategic plan has been developed that is providing a framework to improve the association’s programs and services and its advocacy efforts. A tribute to her vision was the construction and completion of a new headquarters in 2006. Henry has also devoted much of her time to building collaborative relationships between GSBA and educational, legislative and business leaders and groups.
Henry is known as an expert in the field of communications, professional development, superintendent searches and finance campaigns. She has worked with school boards on conflict management, goal-setting and team-building. Henry also has worked on over 100 successful finance campaigns throughout the country for nearly $5 billion worth of construction money.
A frequent speaker and lecturer, Henry has traveled the country assisting school boards, school boards associations and local school districts. She is also a noted author and has penned numerous articles, training kits and manuals on school finance campaigns, communications and boardsmanship. In 2006 she co-authored, Leadership for State School Boards Associations with Robert Rader, executive director, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and Susan Francis, executive director Delaware School Boards Association. In 2000 she was commissioned by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the American Association of School Administrators to co-author the book, Team Leadership for Student Achievement.
Among the many awards and recognitions she has received, she was named the 2000 recipient of the National School Boards Association’s highest honor, the Shannon Award for Excellence in School Board Governance. South Carolina’s governor honored her in 2001 with the state’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto. Henry earned her bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Georgia.
Henry is currently the chair-elect of the Federation Member Executive Directors' NSBA Liaison Committee and will become chair at the conclusion of the NSBA Annual Conference in April 2008.