Board Members
Tracy White, Board President
Tracy White was re-elected for her second term on the Kanawha County Board of Education in 2022 and was elected president of the Board in 2022 after serving since 2020 as the president pro tem. As a member of the Board, she sits on the Head Start & Preschool Policy Council. Tracy has received both local and national awards for her tireless efforts of improving the lives of people living with diversities. She is a graduate of Nitro High School and studied Psychology at Liberty University. She received her certification as a Christian Life Coach as well as Crisis Counseling and is certified as a Positive Behavior Support Specialist. Tracy is a small business owner and has been an active volunteer parent in Kanawha County Schools for many years, a parent assistant, substitute Autism Mentor, and Special Education advocate. Tracy currently resides in Cross Lanes where she is a strong community leader along with her husband, Jerry, and their three sons Nathan, Connor, and Bailey.
Email: Tracy White
Becky Jones Jordon
Becky Jones Jordon has served on the Kanawha County Board of Education since 2002 and was most recently re-elected in 2022. She is the immediate past Board president. She is a lifelong resident of this area and attended Charleston’s west side schools. She received a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in Social Work from WVU. Mrs. Jordon has worked many years in the Kanawha Valley in the areas of substance abuse, child protective services, psychiatric services, home health and with the incarcerated. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and serves on the boards for Rea of Hope, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the WVU Cancer Institute Board. She and her husband raised four children who all attended Kanawha County Schools.
Email: Becky Jordon
Ryan White
Ryan White was re-elected to the board of education for his third four-year term beginning July 1, 2022. Ryan is a past president of the School Board Association of West Virginia. Ryan served on the RESA 3 Advisory Board from 2014 until 2018. He and his wife Kate have two boys, Jackson and Cameron, and a daughter Jillian. He runs a law firm with his father, Steve White and Mark Matkovich, known as White Law Offices, PLLC which is a boutique transactional firm that focuses on public finance law and government relations. Ryan’s prior public service include serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Joseph Robert Goodwin in 2005-2006, counsel to the West Virginia Senate Finance and Economic Development Committees in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 legislative session and serving on Governor Tomblin’s Natural Gas Vehicle Task Force in 2012-2013. Ryan graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Political Science in 2001 and graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law with a J.D. in 2005. Ryan has been very active in the Kanawha Community serving as Co-Chair of Generation Charleston, President of the East End Community Association, as a board member of Kids Chance of West Virginia and is the current President of the Childhood Language Center.
Email: Ryan White
Jim Joseph Crawford, Sr.
Mr. Jim Crawford Sr. has served on the Kanawha County Board of Education since 2000. Mr. Crawford graduated from Winfield High School and West Virginia State University at Institute, where he played varsity football and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. He received his MA Degree in Education from West Virginia University. He and his wife Marilyn are the parents of one son who also teaches in the school system. Jim Sr. is a retired teacher/coach from St. Albans High School having served the Kanawha County School system for fifty-six years and served as an assistant football coach, golf coach, Head Wrestling Coach, Head Girls Track Coach, and Athletic Director Mr. Crawford was a past President of the West Virginia School Boards Association. Crawford is a former Director of the Gazette Relays Track and Field Spring Sports. He currently serves on the Board of the WVSSAC.
Email: Jim Crawford
Ric Cavender
Mr. Ric Cavender was re-elected to his second term on the Kanawha County Board of Education in 2020 and is currently president pro tem. Ric is the Executive Director of Charleston Main Streets, a non-profit organization housing two Nationally Certified Main Street districts on the West Side and East End of Charleston, focusing on economic development, community development, business district marketing, and public space improvements. Since the programs' inceptions, the districts have experienced public and private investments totaling over $480 million. He has a combined 22 years of nonprofit and business development experience in Kanawha County. A 2000 graduate of Sissonville High School and 2005 graduate of West Virginia State University (Business Administration - Management & Marketing), Ric currently serves as Past-Chairman of Board of Directors of the YMCA of Kanawha Valley. He is a 2015 graduate of Leadership West Virginia, serves on the Marketing Committees for the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau and FestivALL Charleston, as well as the Economic Development Committee of the Regional Intergovernmental Council. In 2018, Ric was among 30 urban development professionals selected worldwide for the Emerging Leaders Fellowship through the International Downtown Association. He resides in Charleston and is the parent of two boys in middle and elementary school.
Email: Ric Cavender
Dr. Tom Williams took office on July 1, 2020, and was formerly the deputy superintendent of Kanawha County Schools. He was deputy superintendent for six years. Before that, he served as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Kanawha County. He served as principal of St. Albans High School for ten years and as a teacher there for seven years, among other positions in the system. He has been an employee of Kanawha County Schools for more than 36 years. Dr. Williams was born and raised in South Charleston, WV, and was educated in the Kanawha County School system. He possesses his doctorate in education from West Virginia University. He currently resides in Kanawha County with his wife of 33 years. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Email: Tom Williams, Superintendent