Otha Thornton

(Candidate bio is posted "as is" and has not been modified nor edited by National PTA.)

NLDC Nominee for President-Elect
Smyrna, Georgia

Personal and Professional Information

• Married 22 years to Caryn, an Educator.  They have a daughter attending Spelman College and a son at Morehouse College.
• Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel.  His last two assignments were with the White House Communications Agency and United States Forces-Iraq in Baghdad.
• Earned the Bronze Star Medal for exceptional performance in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2009-2010
• Received Bachelors degree in 1989 from Morehouse College and Masters degree in 2001 from Michigan Technological University
• Awarded an honorary Doctorate from Michigan Technological University in 2009

PTA Involvement
Current service includes:
National PTA:

• Legislative Committee

• Board of Directors
• Legislative Chairman
• 2011 Advisory Group member for Georgia’s Partnership for Excellence in Education
• Volunteer, Floyd Middle School and Campbell High School, Smyrna, Georgia

Previous service includes:
National PTA:

• National PTA At-Large Board of Directors
• Legislative Committee
• Membership Committee
• Executive Search Committee

Maryland PTA:

• Nominating Leader and Board Development Committee Chairman
• Anne Arundel County’s Superintendent High Performing High School Task Force
• Appointed by Governor of Maryland to serve on a Maryland Education Task Force

Council/Local PTA:

• President of Meade Senior High School PTSA at Fort Meade, Maryland
• Vice President of Meade Senior High School PTSA at Fort Meade, Maryland
• Volunteer at Kaiserslautern American Elementary and Middle Schools’ PTAs. Department of Defense Education Activity, Vogelweh Air Force Base, Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Volunteer at South Range Elementary School, South Range, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)
• Volunteer at Houghton Elementary and Middle Schools, Houghton, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)
• Volunteer at Fernandez Elementary School PTA events, San Antonio, Texas
• Volunteer at Richmond Hill Elementary School events, Richmond Hill, Georgia

Community Involvement
Current service includes:

• Active member of  Atlanta’s West End Church of Christ and youth program volunteer
• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, Go to High School/Go to College Education Mentor
• Eagle Scout with over 25 years of active service in the scouting program around the United States and the world
• Life member of the National Eagle Scout Association