At-Large

About Karla Silvestre

Ms. Karla Silvestre was elected to her second four-year term on November 8, 2012. She is currently serving a second-year term as the vice president of the Board of Education. Ms. Silvestre serves as chairperson of the Board of Education’s Strategic Planning Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Special Populations, and the Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee. In addition, she also serves as the Board of Education’s representative to the Maryland Association of Boards of Education’s Resolutions Committee.

Ms. Silvestre’s education policy experience began at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked at the Penn-Merck Collaborative for Science Education doing teacher training in hands-on science education in West Philadelphia Schools. She also served as Vice President for Children and Youth for a large non-profit managing preventative school-year and summer youth programs.

Since her move to Maryland in 2007, Ms. Silvestre has served as the Latino liaison for the County Executive in Montgomery County’s Office of Community Partnerships, as well as manager of the county’s Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center. She has been very involved with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), including having served on the MCCPTA Curriculum committee, as a member of the MCPS Latino Student Achievement Action Group, and as a board member of Woodlin Elementary School PTA.

Ms. Silvestre currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Montgomery College, leading the College’s efforts to be the community’s college through partnerships, engagement centers, outreach, and collaborative problem solving.

Ms. Silvestre graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and received her master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is married with two children who attend MCPS.