Prescott Valley community leader and education activist Jodi Rooney has been elected interim president for the Gardner Family Teacher Scholarship Foundation (GiFTS). Rooney, a 13-year resident of Arizona and member of the GiFTS board of directors, replaces former president Robert St. Claire, who moved to Chicago for a career opportunity.
Rooney has been involved with educational organizations throughout her career. Most recently, Rooney worked with Yavapai College in helping to prepare an education blueprint to support transportation, housing and workforce. She had served on the Prescott Valley Town Council until her term expired last year.
Rooney and her husband, James “Casey” Rooney, moved in Arizona in 2006. She became an administrator for the Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization. She later accepted a professional leadership position at the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). She was the architect for the ADOT Education Encouragement Connection for Women program. That program was designed to assist women in their higher education ambitions and leadership goals.
The Metropolitan Phoenix Chapter of Women in Transportation honored Rooney with its “Woman of the Year Award” in January 2018.
“Knowing that Arizona faces a labor shortage, one area I can personally work on is supporting teachers,” she said. “We need teachers to prepare the future workforce. We have a serious teacher shortage in Arizona.”
GiFTS has granted more than $300,000 in scholarships to Yavapai County students in recent years. “We’ll give more than $25,000 to aspiring teachers in March, so I want to encourage persons who feel strongly about boosting Arizona’s teacher education and retention rate to help by contributing,” she said. QCBN
For more information, visit ycesa.com/gardner-techer-scholarship/
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