CEO and Editor-in-chief, EducationNC
Mebane Rash is the CEO and Editor-in-chief of EducationNC, a collection of nonprofits, including the education-focused daily, on-line newspaper EdNC and a non-partisan think-tank called the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. She's been nationally recognized as a leader, such as being one of 60 women invited to study Women and Power: Leadership in the New World at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Mebane is a graduate of UVA and the UNC School of Law.
What is the greatest challenge our educators face?
Students are now creating knowledge instead of consuming knowledge. Teaching is going to change.
Which skill would you most like to master?
Fly fishing
What do you consider your organization's greatest achievement?
Civility and inclusion in our polarized, politicized world. Everyday.
What quality do you most admire in a school leader?
Unwaivering confidence
If you could change one thing about public education, what would it be?
We have to figure out how to fuel systems change. What is our economy going to look like in 2050, what kind of educational system will be needed, and how do we get from here to there?
What is your current state of mind?
I lost my Dad recently, I am having heart surgery this December, I am turning 50 next year, and my oldest son is going off to college. It seems like a lot, but it is just life. I am thankful and very proud of my family and my team EdNC.
When and where were you happiest?
Someone once read Don Quixote out loud to me. Then.
What is your most treasured possession?
I have a bracelet that has been handed down through the generations in my family. It says, “Stand tall, think tall, act tall.”
What is your most marked characteristic?
I love our state fiercely. My husband would say problem solving.
Advice you would give to a young person interested in a profession in education?
Fit matters for teachers just like it matters to students. Don’t leave the profession just because you haven’t found a good fit.
What statistic have you recently heard that surprised you?
Of the more than 5,300 students who recently participated in First Vote NC, 22.1 percent said they NEVER attended religious services.