Board Members

Stephanie Sneed was elected to represent District 4 in November 2022. She is an attorney specializing in employment law. As a child, she was active in Girl Scouts and public service, as were her mother and grandmother. Sneed attended public schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Texas at Arlington and completed course work toward a master’s degree in city regional planning before shifting her focus to the law. She graduated from Howard University School of Law and works as a trial lawyer practicing in the areas of labor and employment law. Sneed was a founding member of the Charlotte Community Think Tank and has served as chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. 

stephaniem.sneed@cms.k12.nc.us 

Gregory “Dee” Rankin was elected to represent District 3 in November 2022. He is a program supervisor. A native of Charlotte, he attended North Carolina A&T State University and UNC Charlotte, earning bachelor’s degrees from both. He also earned a master’s degree in public administration from UNC Pembroke. He has been an educator in CMS and has taught in private and charter schools. He has also served as the chair of the Mayor’s Mentoring Alliance, chair of the education committee for the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and director of education for the Sigmas of Charlotte. His family has been active in education, serving in CMS as principals, administrators, and teachers. He is married with three daughters. 

gregoryd.rankin@cms.k12.nc.us 

Lenora Shipp was elected as an at-large member of the Board of Education in 2019. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, she worked in education for more than 30 years in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools before retiring in June 2014. Shipp is a graduate of West Charlotte High School. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Barber-Scotia College, a master’s degree in educational administration from Ohio State University and a master’s degree from UNC Charlotte in curriculum, instruction and supervision. She taught at First Ward Elementary school, as well as at what was then Ranson Junior High, before being named assistant principal at Allenbrook Elementary and principal at Sedgefield Elementary. She has served as a trainer, mentor and presenter on state and national programs and conferences. She has also won national recognition as an effective teacher and school leader. 

l1.sanders-shipp@cms.k12.nc.us 

Liz Monterrey Duvall was elected as an at-large member of the Board of Education in 2023. A seasoned business and marketing professional at a Fortune 100 technology company, Monterrey attended public school and earned a bachelor's degree in Finance and a Master's of Business Administration. Fluent in both English and Spanish. Monterrey is originally from Miami, FL, but proudly considers Charlotte her forever home as a resident of the East side. Liz and her husband have three dogs and one child who will be attending CMS next year.

elizabethd.monterrey@cms.k12.nc.us 

Monty Witherspoon was elected as an at-large member of the Board of Education in 2023.

As a native of Charlotte, Dr. Monty Witherspoon attended Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and graduated from Olympic High School. He furthered his education at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at Livingstone College, he served as the president of the Student Government Association.

Realizing the importance of academic training, Dr. Witherspoon continued his education at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he earned a master's degree. He also holds a doctoral degree from Drew University in Madison, NJ.

Dr. Witherspoon enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons. His favorite activities include reading, traveling, golfing.

m1.witherspoon-brown@cms.k12.nc.us 

studentadvisor2024@cms.k12.nc.us 

Melissa Easley was elected to represent District 1 in November 2022. A native of Chicago, she moved to Charlotte in 2011 and was a science and social studies teacher in CMS for a decade. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s degree in K-12 instructional technology from Walden University. She also has National Board certification. Before coming to Charlotte, she taught science and social studies in suburban Chicago. She is the co-founder of the online platform North Carolina Teachers United. She is married with two children in CMS schools. 

melissam.easley@cms.k12.nc.us 

Thelma Byers-Bailey was elected to the Board of Education in 2013 to represent District 2. A native Charlottean, she graduated from West Charlotte High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in physics and math from Fisk University. She holds a law degree from St. Louis University Law School and master’s degree from the St. Louis Joint Degree Program. While practicing law in California she served the Wiley Manual Bar Association as president and the California State Bar Conference of Delegates as a member of the Calendar Coordinating Committee before retiring to return home to Charlotte. Byers-Bailey is president of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association, serves as a member of the Friendship CDC Board of Directors and the African American Community Fund’s Board of Directors. She has served as an after-school math tutor for 4th and 5th grade students, as well as a mentor for an 8th grader at Walter G. Byers School. Ms. Byers-Bailey has two adult children and seven grandchildren. 

thelmab.bailey@cms.k12.nc.us 

Lisa Cline was elected to represent District 5 in November 2022. A native of Greenville, S.C., she graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history and earned a master’s degree in school administration from UNC Charlotte. Before moving to Charlotte in 1990, she taught in middle and high schools for 10 years. In Charlotte, she taught at Smith and Cochrane junior high schools, then worked in the then-new middle school model at Smith. She served as lead teacher for Smith Academy of Foreign Languages, for the district social studies program and for the Middle Years Program International Baccalaureate. She also worked as coordinator at Marie G. Davis and was assistant principal at Phillip O. Berry, West Mecklenburg and Ardrey Kell high schools. In all, she worked in education for 39 years before retiring in 2019. Once retired, she did volunteer work in the community before teaching multiple K-12 learning pods during the pandemic. 

lisac.cline@cms.k12.nc.us 

Summer Nunn was elected to represent District 6 in November 2022. She is chief marketing officer of Magnolia Wash Holding. A native of Hamlet, North Carolina, she comes from a family of educators: her mother was a teacher in Scotland County, her grandmother was a high school secretary, and her grandfather was a history teacher, football coach, principal and interim superintendent. Nunn attended public schools before earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration (with a concentration in finance) from UNC Chapel Hill. She and her husband decided to leave Atlanta for Charlotte in 2009. They have two children in CMS elementary schools.

summerl.nunn@cms.k12.nc.us