Carolyn Edwards

2009-2010 District F Advisory Group Meeting Schedule

A resident of Las Vegas since 1992, Carolyn Edwards was elected to the School Board in 2006 and now serves as vice president of the board. She is the representative for District F.

Edwards earned her B.A. from Earlham College and a Master's in Social Work from Rutgers University. Prior to her move to Nevada, Edwards worked 10 years as a family therapist in a community mental health center in Prince William County, VA. During that time, she also worked closely with the police and fire and rescue departments providing critical incident debriefing services.

Since moving to Nevada, Edwards has been active with the local educational system. She worked as a volunteer in her children's elementary, middle and high schools, remaining active until they graduated. As PTA president of Gray Elementary School, she commissioned an artist to paint the State Symbols. The original paintings reside at Gray ES and copies can be found in Carson City, the Clark County School District Administrative Building and in many schools throughout the state. For seven years she assisted in the Career Center at Bonanza High School, guiding high school students in their post secondary pursuits.

From 1995 to 1999, Edwards served as the chairperson of the District F School Board Trustee Parent Advisory Committee (F-Troop). During this time, she helped with several community service projects, including two book drives that gathered 21,000 books for distribution to local schools and families. From 1999 to 2006, she served on the Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (AZAC) for the CCSD, acting as chairperson for three years. As part of her efforts with AZAC, Edwards conducted hundreds of meetings with schools and parent groups to explore future zoning decisions and to obtain feedback from the stakeholders.

Edwards is a founder and former board member of Nevadans for Quality Education (NQE), a nonprofit organization committed to improving education in Nevada. As part of her involvement with Nevadans for Quality Education, Edwards was a lobbyist on education issues during the 2005 legislative session.

As a community activist, Edwards has also been involved in land use planning and development. She has helped neighborhoods organize to express their views on various land use issues, and has frequently represented those neighborhoods in meetings with the Spring Valley Town Board, the Clark County Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners.

Since her election to the board, Ms. Edwards now also serves as a board member to the Southern Nevada Public Television Association. She is also the legislative chairperson and executive committee member of the Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB). In 2008, Ms. Edwards received the Director of the Year Award from NASB.

Edwards has been married to her husband, Charles Carter, since 1971. Their two sons attended CCSD schools, graduating from Bonanza High School.