Board Members
Ric Cavender, Board President
Mr. Ric Cavender was re-elected to his third term on the Kanawha County Board of Education in 2024 and currently serves as president. Ric is the Executive Director of Charleston Urban Works (formerly known as Charleston Main Streets), a non-profit organization focused on urban 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 $420 million. He has a combined 23 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 the 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 high school and middle school.
Email: Ric Cavender
Tracy White
Tracy White was elected for her first term on the Kanawha County Board of Education in 2018 and is the current Board President. 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 small business owner, 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 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 and their three sons.
Email: Tracy White
Becky Jones Jordon
Becky Jones Jordon has served on the Kanawha County Board of Education since 2002. 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 currently working as an addiction therapist in the area. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and serves on the board for Rea of Hope. She raised four children who all attended Kanawha County Schools.
Email: Becky Jordon
Kate White, President Pro Tem
Kate White is the parent of three children in Kanawha County Schools. Kate works as an attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia, a non-profit law firm where she manages programs that provide free legal assistance to low-income and vulnerable West Virginians. At Legal Aid, Kate led the development of the Lawyer in the School program, which partners with the West Virginia Department of Education and county school systems across the state to offer free legal help to low-income students and families seeking to stabilize the lives of children at home, so they can focus on school.
A native of West Virginia, Kate graduated with a B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003, and received her J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law in 2007. She has also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA working to assist low-income women entering or re-entering the workforce. Following law school, she worked as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Louis H. Bloom of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County and also served as counsel to the West Virginia Senate Health Committee during the 2012 legislative session. Kate is the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship, a national public interest law award, and was honored with a Lawyers and Leaders Award in 2019 by the West Virginia Executive Magazine.
Kate and her husband, Ryan, live in Charleston with their children. She enjoys being active in her community and at her children’s school. She is an active member of Piedmont Elementary’s PTO, previously serving as President and Vice President, and playing a coordination role in the revitalization of the school’s playground, Celebration Station, through the partnership between Kanawha County Schools, the City of Charleston, and Charleston Rotary. She currently serves as a board member of the YWCA Charleston and volunteers as a youth soccer coach for the West Side Soccer Association. She formerly served as a board member for FamilyCare HealthCenters, East End Main Street, East End Community Association, and the East End Family Resource Center, and was a Read Aloud WV volunteer at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary.
Email: Kate 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
2023-2024 Kanawha County Board of Education Self-Appraisal Survey
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 39 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 36 years. They have a son, a daughter, and three grandchildren.
Email: Tom Williams, Superintendent