Carrie McPherson Douglass is a twice-elected school board member and small business owner in Bend, Oregon. As chair of the school board throughout the pandemic, Douglass led Bend-La Pine Schools to be the first large district in Oregon to reopen schools in person, cutting through politics to do what was best for students. Douglass has also helped lead on a number of policy initiatives, including adding student representatives to the board, partnering with local agencies on workforce housing and pushing against the status quo to reimagine a school system that is welcoming, equitable and excellent for all students.

Douglass is also co-founder and co-CEO of School Board Partners, a national nonprofit that supports hundreds of diverse elected school board members to lead with courage, competence and impact. Douglass is co-author of Empty Seats at Powered Tables: The State of School Boards in America, as well as a new school board governance model called Empowered Governance. Douglass is also co-founder and co-owner of Cascade Relays event management and The Haven Coworking, which has a mission to make Bend the first metro area in the country to reach gender and racial parity in entrepreneurship, business ownership and politics. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband and two school-aged children.