Jenner To Become Governor’s Senior Education Advisor

Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced Dr. Katie Jenner will serve as his senior education advisor as Dr. Lee Ann Kwiatkowski departs to become the Director of Public Education and Chief Executive Officer of Muncie Community Schools.

Gov. Holcomb has also recommended State Board of Education Chief of Staff Brian Murphy as the executive director of the board to replace Dr. Kwiatkowski. The board will review the governor’s recommendation during its July 10 business meeting.

“As a dedicated educator, Katie has an incredible passion for Hoosier students, teachers and families that will be instrumental in her statewide guidance as well as the remarkable breadth and depth her career in education has thus far covered,” Gov. Holcomb said. “While we will miss Lee Ann’s daily presence in the Governor’s office, I am pleased that she will continue her service to students and the state in her new role with Muncie schools, a perfect fit for both at exactly the right time.”

Dr. Jenner started in K-12 public education in 2005 as a Career and Technical Education teacher in Kentucky. From 2009 to 2018, she worked for Madison Consolidated Schools in Indiana as an assistant principal and then assistant superintendent. Since then, she has served as Vice President of K-12 Initiatives and Statewide Partnerships for Ivy Tech Community College, leading statewide college strategies toward partnerships between K-12, Career Centers, and Ivy Tech. Dr. Jenner also serves on the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission.

Dr. Kwiatkowski has served as the education policy director for Gov. Holcomb since 2018 and as the executive director of the Indiana State Board of Education. In addition to her work in the governor’s office, she served as chief of staff to Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick, and as a principal and assistant superintendent for M.S.D. Warren Township. From 2005 to 2011 she worked for the Indiana Department of Education. She began her career in education in 1984 as a classroom teacher and literacy facilitator for Indianapolis Public Schools. Dr. Kwiatkowski also serves on the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission.

Murphy started his career at the State Board of Education in 2013 as deputy general counsel before being promoted to general counsel and then chief of staff. Prior to that, he completed a clerkship with the Mississippi Supreme Court and served as a prosecutor with the Marion County Prosecutor’s office for nearly seven years. He earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.