A recent Twitter Post which now has been deleted led to the challenging to uncover news that Mayor Muriel Bowser had nominated Lyon Rosario, a Ward 8 resident, to replace Dr. Darren Woodruff on the DC Public Charter School Board.  Dr. Woodruff’s term ended last July.  Ms. Rosario’s volunteer service was scheduled to conclude on February 24, 2022.

This selection seemed a bit odd.  According to Ms. Rosario’s four page resume submitted with the written announcement of the nomination, she is currently serving as a Drug and Alcohol Program Manager for the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration in the nation’s capital.  She has held this position since 2014.  While her Curriculum Vitae appears extremely impressive, it centers completely around work in the U.S. Department of Transportation.  For example, she received a 2006 Secretary Team Award for Hurricane Katrina Response.  Ms. Rosario has a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Brandeis University.

The nomination was apparently made on June 22, 2018 and then on September 26th it was withdrawn.

Research on the Ms. Rosario nomination led to information that another candidate for the PCSB had been put forth and then cancelled by the Mayor.  Also on June 22nd, Ms. Lea Crusey was nominated to fill the seat of Don Soifer, who relocated to Nevada last year to become the president of Nevada Action for School Options.  Mr. Soifer is still included as being on the PCSB on the organization’s website, but then too is Dr. Woodruff.  Her term would have been co-terminus with Ms. Rosario’s.  Ms. Crusey is listed as a Ward 6 resident and is the founder and chief executive officer of Allies for Educational Equity, a group started in 2017.  Before coming into this role, according to resume accompanying her nomination, she was a senior advisor to the United States Department of Education for about a year as an appointee of President Obama.  Before joining the Department of Education she was a senior advisor to Democrats for Education Reform.  She was also once a teacher through Teach for America.

Ms. Crusey received a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from Claremont McKenna College and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

On September 28, 2018, her nomination was withdrawn by the Mayor.  No explanations are provided for the rescinding of these candidates for the PCSB.