Avon Lake City Schools Appoint New Board of Education Member

BOE meeting image from last night: Avon Lake City Schools Treasurer Autumn Reed (right) administers the oath of office to new Board of Education member Kendra Gardiner.

Members of the Avon Lake City Schools Board of Education (BOE) voted last night (Aug. 9, 2022) to appoint Kendra Gardiner to the vacant board seat after the recent resignation of Pam Ohradzansky. Gardiner will serve the remainder of the term which expires Dec. 31, 2023. She must run for election next year to retain the position.

According to Avon Lake City Schools BOE President Jim Stobe, the BOE received 21 applications for the open position. The BOE narrowed the applicants down to five and interviewed the candidates last week.

“We are very excited to have Kendra Gardiner join our Board of Education,” said Stobe. “Her professional background in strategic leadership, continuous improvement, and project-based collaboration with community members will be a huge asset to the Board. We are also excited that she brings the perspective of a parent with kids just entering the district, having served on the Avon Lake Early Childhood PTA (ALECPTA) since 2019, and as board delegate where she engaged with the superintendent and other PTA delegates monthly. Kendra will bring great energy to our Board and we welcome her to the team.”

Gardiner and her husband, Charlie, are the parents of two boys. Henri, 6, is a first-grader at Erieview Elementary School; and Aiden, 4, will be starting an all-day Pre-K program at Primrose School of Avon. In addition to her work with the ALECPTA, Gardiner is an active volunteer supporting school activities for her boys, and previously was active with Junior Achievement and as a frequent class speaker at Avon Lake High School. Gardiner is the Director of Product Strategy at University Hospitals in the UH Ventures group. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in the Metroparks, traveling, and enjoying new adventures with her family.

“I decided to pursue the open position on the Avon Lake school board because I felt it was time to transition my passion and experiences in economic development to the community where I am raising my family and we call home,” said Gardiner. Additionally, my husband is a product of the Avon Lake Schools and it has never been a question of where our children will go to school. The Avon Lake school system, in my opinion, is one of our greatest strengths as a community in terms of providing a well-rounded and high-quality education for our children and attracting new families. I am beginning this journey today with a simple goal of bringing my whole self to this position – prepared to listen and learn, and to represent a younger generation of families who are going to be impacted by the most significant decisions we may need to make for the school district in the coming years.”