IASB Announces Leadership Retirements, Promotions 

Two veteran educators working in IASB administration have announced their retirements, and two members of the Association staff are slated to fill their roles.  

Board Development
Dean Langdon, currently the Associate Executive Director for Board Development, will retire after 15 years with IASB, effective June 30. Langdon has led IASB efforts in Board Development and Field Services. He joined IASB from the superintendency at Lincoln CHSD 404.  

Lori Grant will enter the role of Associate Executive Director of Board Development on July 1. For the past four years, Grant has worked with board teams throughout the state as a Field Services Director and leads Trust Edge events as a Certified Trust Coach. Grant has led the Association’s Winter Book Studies for the past four years. Before joining IASB, Grant was an Illinois public school educator for 25 years, serving as a Choral Director, Department Chair, and Instructional Coach. Grant also worked as a corporate trainer for one of the largest privately held companies in the country, building and delivering content for emerging leaders and sales teams. Grant received a Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University and her Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Aurora University.  

The Board Development team develops and delivers premier training content and leadership recognition opportunities to IASB members. 

Executive Searches
Tom Leahy is retiring as Director of Executive Searches, effective June 30. He began with the Association as a Consultant in 2008 and has served as Director since 2016. Leahy was named Superintendent of the Year by the Illinois Association of School Administrators in 2006 while at Quincy SD 172. 

Patricia Sullivan-Viniard, currently an Executive Searches Consultant, will take on Leahy’s role as Director of Executive Searches on July 1. She joined the Executive Searches team in 2019 after retiring from 37 years of public school service. During her educational tenure, she served as a teacher — elementary through high school and both general and special education — as well as a principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. Sullivan-Viniard received Bachelor of Science degrees in Elementary and Special Education from Quincy University, a Master of Arts degree in English from Western Illinois University, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership also from Western Illinois University.

Executive Searches offers expertise and processes to help school boards determine their next superintendent or other administrator. This includes conducting a needs assessment, collecting candidate information, screening and interviewing candidates, and maintaining contact with educational agents.