Brenda Wolff was selected by her colleagues on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, to serve as president of the Montgomery County Board of Education. Karla Silvestre was elected as vice president. Both officers will serve a one-year term.

“I am honored to be chosen by my peers to serve as president of the Board, as we continue to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the school system and our larger community,” said Ms. Wolff.

Ms. Wolff, a resident of Silver Spring, was elected to her first four-year term on Nov. 6, 2018. She is a member of the Board's Fiscal Management Committee. Previously, she has served as the vice president of the Board and chair of the Board’s Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee. She currently serves as the Board’s representative to the Maryland Association of Boards of Education’s (MABE) Federal Relations Network Committee and is the vice chair of MABE's Legislative Committee. 

Ms. Wolff received a degree in mathematics from Smith College and a law degree from Suffolk University.

Ms. Silvestre, a resident of Silver Spring, was elected to her first four-year term on Nov. 6, 2018. Ms. Silvestre serves as chair of the Board’s Strategic Planning Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Special Populations and the Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee. In addition, she also serves as the Board of Education’s representative to the Maryland Association of Boards of Education’s Resolutions Committee. Since her move to Maryland in 2007, Ms. Silvestre has served as the Latino liaison for the County Executive in Montgomery County’s Office of Community Partnerships, as well as manager of the county’s Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center.

Ms. Silvestre received a degree in biology from Florida State University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania.