New Faces, Familiar Places: Celebrating RSC Hub Retirements And New Leads
This summer, Rural Schools Collaborative bids farewell to several Regional Hub leaders and welcomes in new leadership at key partner institutions
Over the summer of 2025, several longtime Rural Schools Collaborative Regional Hub leads entered or are approaching retirement, either from their positions at their respective institutions or as RSC hub leads. Located across the country, these rural education advocates are leaders in their fields and at their institutions, serving diverse local communities, preparing generations of rural educators, and advancing rural education research. To honor their accomplishments, and welcome in a new class of Regional Hub leads, Rural Schools Collaborative would like to highlight these leadership transitions.
Appalachia Regional Hub - Morehead State University
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year, former RSC Appalachia Regional Hub lead Dr. April Miller retired from her post as the Dean of the Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University. In the summer of 2025, Morehead State University announced that Dr. Nicola Mason will be stepping into the role of Dean of the Volgenau College of Education.
Arizona Regional Hub - Arizona Rural Schools Association
In May, 2025, the National Rural Education Association announced that Dr. Melissa Sadorf would be named the next Executive Director of the organization. This move marked her transition as the Executive Director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association. Melissa will continue to collaborate with the Rural Schools Collaborative Arizona Regional Hub through her work at the Northern Arizona University Rural Resource Center, and will now share in hub leadership with Dr. Jaime Festa-Daigle, a longtime member of ARSA leadership. Jaime will also now lead Arizona’s ten rural schools as part of the Rural Schools Collaborative GRAD Partnership Rural Cohort.
Indiana Regional Hub - Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning
Over the summer of 2025, Dr. Janet Boyle stepped down from her long career at the University of Indianapolis Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), having served most recently as Director of the Rural Early College Network (RECN). Janet will be succeeded as Indiana Regional Hub Lead by Steve Combs and Reneé Cocanower. Steve Combs presently serves as Director of Early College at CELL, and leads CELL’s participation in the GRAD Partnership. Reneé is a Senior Project Coordinator supporting Early College initiatives at CELL, following a 29 year career in K-12 schools.
Kansas Regional Hub - Kansas State University
Over the last several years, both Dr. Spencer Clark and Dr. Lori Goodson of Kansas State University (KSU) have led RSC’s Kansas Hub, based out of KSU’s Rural Education Center. Now, Dr. Karen Eppley has been named as director of Kansas State University’s Rural Education Center, and will serve as a primary lead for RSC’s Kansas Regional Hub.
Northern California Hub - North State Together
Susan Schroth, RSC Northern California Hub Lead and member of the Rural Schools Collaborative Board, is retiring from her role as GRAD Partnership Director at North State Together. Susan helped pilot the GRAD Partnership for Student Success in northern California, and steer Rural Schools Collaborative’s growth as an organization through her leadership in both the Regional Hub community and on the board. Now, Onica Mello will follow Susan as both GRAD Partnership Director for Northern California’s 10 participating schools, and as RSC Regional Hub lead.
As exciting work in these Regional Hubs continues to flourish, we invite you to stay connected through RSC’s newsletter and social media. To learn more about RSC Regional Hubs, and the projects pursued across our network, check out our Regional Hub Network page. Please join us in thanking the outgoing hub leaders and welcoming in the new hub contacts!