New members Russell, Stephenson join BOE
Both Justin Russell and Erin Stephenson said they decided to apply for the Homewood Board of Education to follow the examples of their mothers, who had both also served on school boards.
“Really I saw her as a great role model, being involved,” Stephenson said of her mother. “I really saw the impact that a school board member can have, because this is a critical time for us.”
Russell and Stephenson joined the BOE in June, replacing outgoing members Nancy Ferren and Chris Hawkins. Both Ferren and Hawkins were single-term members but were not selected by the city council for a second term.
Russell has been an Edgewood resident since 2009, with his wife, Lora, and 9-year-old daughter, Maggie, and is the chief operating officer of Warren Averett Asset Management. Stephenson grew up in Homewood and returned to live in West Homewood in 2005 with her husband, Scott, rising fourth-grader, Reid, and kindergartener, Conner. She is the client and community relationships director for PNC Bank.
When asked about the issues they’d like to address during their terms, the growth of the school system was an obvious answer for each. Homewood City Schools is currently in the pre-construction planning process to find the most effective way to make room for its growing student body.
“I want to not rush to judgment and learn from people who’ve been doing it, but obviously the facilities are a major issue going on in our community right now,” Russell said, adding that he wants to focus on “keeping the things that really made Homewood the primary reason that my wife and I decided to raise children here.”
Stephenson, the daughter of city attorney Mike Kendrick, said she wants to help make “thoughtful, strategic decisions will definitely impact my children and their friends.”
In addition to overseeing the growth progress, Stephenson said she wants to use her term on the board to keep the school system on a sound financial footing, plan for the future and invest in technology and new ways of educating.
“Homewood is a community that cares very deeply, and that’s a great thing, and obviously something that we need to be thoughtful about as a school board, to harness that and involve people in ways that are meaningful to them,” Stephenson said.
Russell said the diversity of children in the school system, along with its history of high marks in educational quality, is something he wants to maintain. But, he said, there’s something else he wants to continue that may not always receive the same notice: “Kindness across the board of kids that grow up in Homewood. It’s a very inclusive community.”
He intends to make his term on the board a chance to learn the school system more thoroughly.
“We’re so blessed to live in Homewood and the resources and the local funding that our school systems get. To say that Homewood schools don’t deal with a lot of the problems that other school systems do is an understatement,” Russell said.
Stephenson echoed these thoughts.
“I like to sort of understand things from the inside out, so this will definitely be a year of a lot of learning,” she said of the beginning of her term.
To get in touch with the new board representatives, contact Russell at justin.russell@waasset.com and Stephenson at ekkstephenson@gmail.com.