FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 30, 2023 

 

Gary Community School Corporation Board of Trustees Appointees Announced 

(Gary, IND) – The appointees for the newly created Gary Community School Corporation Board of Trustees have been announced. By law, the Board is to consist of 5 members. Of this number, three (3) are to be appointed by the Indiana Department of Education, one (1) by the Mayor of the City of Gary and one (1) by the Gary Common Council. 

The school board appointees are as follows: 

Indiana Department of Education Appointees: 

Michael L. Suggs, Board Chair – Director of Operations Integration Planning & External Affairs, NIPSCO 

Dr.  Danita Johnson – President & CEO, Edgewater Health 

Atty. Shontrai D. Irving – Clinical Associate Professor of Business Law, Purdue University Northwest 

 

City of Gary – Mayor Jerome A. Prince Appointee 

Akilia McCain, Speech Language Pathologist 

 

Gary Common Council Appointee: 

Dr. Vanessa Allen-McCloud, President and CEO, Urban League of Northwest Indiana 

 

“The appointment of the School Board of Trustees is another critical component to ending the District’s distressed status,” said Dr. Mike Raisor, Manager of the Gary Community School Corporation. “We look forward to working with this body to enact this transition, make decisions that will positively impact our students and encourage community involvement.” 

 

For more information about the Gary Community School Corporation, visit GarySchools.org. 

 

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