July 17, 2025
WestEd today announced that City of Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien will serve as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. O’Brien has served on WestEd’s Board of Directors since 2018. Her 1-year term as Board Chair will begin July 21, 2025. WestEd is a nonpartisan research, development, and service agency that works to promote excellence, improve learning, and increase opportunity for children, youth, and adults.
Phoenix City Council Members elected O’Brien to serve as Vice Mayor on January 15 of this year. She has served on the Council for 4 years. Prior to that, she served as a Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) Governing Board Member for two terms, starting in 2014 and finishing in 2020 as Governing Board President.
An Arizona native, Vice Mayor O’Brien is a longtime advocate for quality education. She was an active parent and volunteer in the DVUSD before her election to the Governing Board.
Professionally, Vice Mayor O’Brien has worked in project management with the Arizona Department of Child Support Enforcement and as a business broker.
Her volunteer service includes providing support to students, teachers, and staff as a committee member of the of the Stetson Hills Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and the Sandra Day O’Connor Academy of History Booster Club.
“Ann’s range of experience in education as a parent, a district board member, and a volunteer and her experience in city policy are crucial assets to WestEd and to our Board of Directors,” said WestEd CEO Jannelle Kubinec. “I look forward to her leadership and guidance as we continue to pursue our vision of thriving learners and empowered communities.”
WestEd’s Board of Directors consists of leaders from public and private education, business, and human services sectors. Board members play a critical role in the agency’s leadership and strategic planning. O’Brien will succeed current WestEd Board Chair Andrea Rorrer, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah’s College of Education and Director of the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC).
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to serve on WestEd’s Board of Directors,” said Vice Mayor O’Brien. “I am excited about taking on the role of Chair and working closely with Jannelle as we continue to promote excellence, improve learning, and increase opportunity for children, youth, and adults. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of WestEd’s previous Board Chairs and to thank all the Board members who support WestEd through their time and expertise.”