BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, July 3, 2024) – Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced his appointments of Emily C. Ames-Messinger, Dr. Stefan L. Lallinger, and Ashiah S. Parker to the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners. These appointments fill three vacancies on the Board. Additionally, the Mayor announced that he would be reappointing Khalilah Slater-Harrington and Andrew Coy to their currently held positions on the board. The new appointees were sworn-in at a ceremony at Baltimore City Hall. 

The Mayor is responsible for appointing nine of the twelve members of the board following an application and community panel review process. Two of the positions are elected by Baltimore City voters and the final twelfth seat is held by a student representative selected by the Student Congress for Baltimore City.

“It’s no secret that our young people mean the world to me,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “When we fill roles on the School Board, we look for the best of the best to serve students in the City of Baltimore. I am confident that these three new appointees will excel in their roles on the Board of School Commissioners and help us continue to prioritize the wellbeing and excellence of Baltimore’s young people.”

Each of the new appointees bring a wealth of diverse experience to the board and are committed to serving Baltimore’s students through the boards oversight role to maintain a culture of excellence in City Schools.

Emily C. Ames-Messinger is a social worker, former teacher and community school coordinator, and current City Schools parent. For the last seven years, she has worked with the University of Maryland’s Positive Schools Center developing and managing programs, advocating for policy changes, writing grants, and training school leaders and staff to build positive and safe school cultures. Emily holds a Masters of Social Work from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from The Johns Hopkins University.  She lives in Reservoir Hill with her daughters, Lucy and Madeline, and her husband, Scott.

Dr. Stefan L. Lallinger is the executive director of Next100, a public policy think tank. He is a former teacher, principal, and district leader with a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University. He lives in Mt. Washington with his wife and three daughters and is a proud City Schools parent. 

Ashiah Parker is a longtime resident of the Sandtown neighborhood in Central West Baltimore. She is committed to working to make her neighborhood and Baltimore City as a whole a better place. Ashiah works as the Executive Director of No Boundaries Coalition, is a Principal (Non-Attorney) at Funk and Bolton PA and serves on various boards and organizations throughout Baltimore. Ms. Parker holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Baltimore and lives with her two children, Aaliyah and Jeremiah and her husband, Keith.