ANNAPOLIS — Two Southern Maryland school board members will help steer the statewide group that speaks for Maryland’s 24 local boards of education in Annapolis.
Nicole Kreamer of the Charles County Board of Education and Cathy Allen of the St. Mary’s County Board of Education were sworn in to the 2026-27 board of directors of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, the association announced Oct. 21. They were among 12 directors sworn in during MABE’s annual conference, held Oct. 19-20 in Annapolis. Calvert County does not have a member on the new board.
MABE, founded in 1957, is a private nonprofit whose members are all 24 local school boards. It is one of the main voices for local boards before the General Assembly and state education officials, which gives its directors a hand in shaping the association’s positions on school funding, state mandates and education policy that land on county school systems.
The local members
Kreamer represents District 3 on the Charles County Board of Education. Her board profile describes her as a senior-level health care professional who has also worked as a substitute teacher for Charles County Public Schools. She holds master’s degrees in health care administration and business administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus, founded The Royal Treatment, which provides free formal wear to students, and serves on MABE committees. Gov. Wes Moore appointed her to the state Council for the Advancement of School-Based Health Centers.
Allen, a Hollywood resident, is a longtime member of the St. Mary’s County Board of Education and is returning to a role she has held before. When she was appointed to the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees in 2022, CSM noted her earlier service on MABE’s board of directors, along with the state’s Race to the Top advisory and steering committees and the Governor’s P-20 Council. A former intensive care nurse, she has pushed for a comprehensive STEM program in St. Mary’s schools.
New statewide officers
Jolene Mosley, a Howard County Board of Education member, was sworn in Oct. 19 as MABE’s president. She succeeds Diana Hawley of the Cecil County Board of Education. Mosley is a senior data scientist who served as MABE’s representative on the Maryland State Department of Education’s school calendar and instructional requirements workgroup this spring.
MABE Executive Director Joe Goetz said in the announcement that Mosley has paid close attention to the needs of vulnerable students and has worked on funding formulas aligned with schools’ demographic needs.
The other officers are:
- President-elect: Joanna Bache Tobin, Anne Arundel County
- Treasurer: Robert Salley, Baltimore City
- Secretary: Rodney Glotfelty, Garrett County
The rest of the board of directors includes Emily Ames-Messinger of Baltimore City, Dianne Heath of Cecil County, Dean Rose of Frederick County, Jane Wildesen of Garrett County, Jennifer Swickard Mallo of Howard County, Laura McKenzie of Kent County, Grace Rivera Oven of Montgomery County, Zakyia Goins-McCants of Prince George’s County, Shannon Bent of Queen Anne’s County and Jon Andes of Worcester County.
Nearly 200 school board members, superintendents, state officials and others attended this year’s conference, according to MABE. The new board serves through next fall, a stretch that includes the 2027 General Assembly session, when local boards will again press their priorities on school funding and state requirements.
