Brian Jordan was inspired to run for the Brandywine School Board when he saw a growing threat that Delaware's schools were at risk of losing federal funding.

When Brian Jordan decided to run for his local school board, he knew he was in for the fight of his life.

The 45-year-old dad had never done anything like this before, but here he was, suddenly going toe-to-toe against a well-known rival in a frenzied two-month campaign.

In the end, he would prevail, but he knew there was still much to learn, and many pitfalls to avoid. And he knew where to turn for help.

Jordan and many other board members have found success with First State Educate, a nonprofit committed to strengthening local boards from the ground up. Here are the tales of three who dared to run, and who found their dreams of creating a better Delaware were not that far out of reach.

Thinking about running for school board? If you’re ready to step up, First State Educate will provide the tools, training, and support needed to run and to serve with confidence from day one.

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BRIAN JORDAN, Brandywine School District

Brian Jordan remembers the day that his journey toward becoming a school board member truly began. It was November 5, 2024, the day Donald Trump won his second term with promises to slash federal education funds to state schools.

To Jordan, it was a moment that seemed to pose true peril for his two school-age daughters and the other students of Delaware’s public schools. He believed someone needed to stand up and safeguard the programs that were now at risk.

It didn’t immediately occur to him that he could be that person, until he heard that a board member in his district was stepping down. “With that opening, I thought, ‘Here’s a great opportunity, let’s do it.'”

To some degree, it seemed a natural fit: As an attorney he is well-versed in legal and regulatory complexities, and his sense for public duty had been deeply instilled by a 27-month Peace Corps stint in Bulgaria.

But with just two months until 2025 board elections, he had little time, and not a lot of experience running a campaign. He enlisted some savvy friends to help, then discovered that he had an even bigger ally right around the corner.

First State Educate pretty much exists for people just like Jordan: The nonprofit preps fledgling candidates to run efficient campaigns, trains the winners in the intricacies of school governance, and generally serves as an on-call expert consultant — all free of charge.

“School systems are really complex, and First State Educate was very helpful in getting an understanding of the issues and what you might encounter as a school board member,” said Jordan.

Part of that help comes through the group’s extensive online training programs — collectively known as the Knowledge Hub. Other times it’s done through candidate forums hosted by First State Educate, giving prospective board members exposure — and experience — in the sometimes harsh public spotlight.

But much of the support is even more direct and personal. Through any uncertainty or moment of doubt, he knows the pros at First State Educate are only a phone call away.

“The big thing that they gave me was confidence,” Jordan said of the team. “If I had any questions about anything to do with a school board, they were always there to talk about it.”

For Monica Moriak, becoming president of the Christina School District was the culmination of years of work trying to change Delaware’s schools for the better.

MONICA MORIAK, Christina School District

A dozen or so years ago, Monica Moriak was just one of thousands of parents whose children attended Christina School District. When it came to her sons’ education, she was persistently vocal, highly engaged, but not very confident that the right people were really listening to her concerns.

She vowed to change that. And she was unrelenting in her quest.

After running unsuccessfully for a school board seat in 2016 (“I figured it wasn’t meant to be.”), she put her name in as an interim replacement for a retiring board member in 2020.

The board voted to give her the seat, and in the ensuing years, her momentum hasn’t waned. In 2021 she won her election outright, and in 2025 the chemist and empty-nest mom was named board president of the state’s largest district.

“Part of why I got on the school board is I felt that they’re having conversations up there, but there are some essential questions that I didn’t feel they were asking each other,” she said.

Her journey to the top seat may not have been seamless or simple, but her passion for the job has only grown, along with her gratitude to First State Educate’s inside expertise.

Learning webinars hosted by the nonprofit keep her abreast of shifting school governance dynamics, and her ideas about improving those dynamics in Delaware found a receptive ear.

“I wanted to try to create a way for boards across the state to have face-to-face conversations between members in a casual, informal setting,” said Moriak, who took her idea to Yvonne Johnson, First State Educate’s lead school board consultant. 

“Yvonne said, ‘Oh, let us help you,'” and soon Moriak was applying for and winning one of First State’s Educate’s “Mini Grants,” which are given to boards to help strengthen governance, foster community connections, and address local challenges. 

Moriak is still fine-tuning the concept of those board “mix and mingles,” working with First State Educate to make it a part of the online Knowledge Hub after encountering the tricky logistics of convening board members from across many districts.

She remains optimistic about its potential — and about the potential of other Delaware parents to achieve what she has.

“If you see in any area an opportunity to maybe make a difference, go out on a limb and try it,” she says of aspiring board members. “I keep walking out of my comfort zone, and then realizing I can do more than I realized.”

Tim Banks has been on the Woodbridge School Board since July 2025, but has been working to support his community for decades.

TIM BANKS, Woodbridge School District

He didn’t fully realize it at the time, but winning a seat on the Woodbridge School Board was the easy part for Tim Banks, longtime community advocate, pastor and father of five grown children.

The real work began soon after the spring 2025 election, prompted by an email from First State Educate that invited him to dive into their training programs. Suddenly, he found himself wrestling with arcane financial structures, attending online sessions for new board members and generally scrambling to get up to speed for his new role.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Banks said with a laugh. “It was all foreign to me. I set my heart to learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could.”

That opportunity to learn on the fly was truly a blessing for the 60-year-old, who serves as senior pastor at The Life Center Church in Bridgeville. Stepping into a role as a servant to the public, however, came a little easier: The Woodbridge graduate has worked in social service roles in the area for decades, launching youth programs, food pantries, and even helping build a church in Guatemala.

“My heart is to serve. I want to make an impact before I leave this earth, brother,” he said. First State Educate’s Mini Grants are helping him achieve that quest: Banks is seeking a special grant focused on bridging the wide communications gap between the board and students.

“But the biggest thing First State Educate gave me was the encouragement — the encouragement to be a strong voice, but to also sit back and be observant, learn as much as you can.”

And for a man who has built so much of his career around listening to the concerns of others, he was happy to hear that First State Educate was encouraging him to do more of the same.

“The learning sessions with veteran board members were full of great dialogue, ideas on how to be more active within the schools themselves, setting time aside to just walk through the hallways and talk to support staff. All that came through First State.”