Meet the candidates for the Carmel Clay School Board
The Carmel Clay School Board has five members, three for specific districts and two serving in at-large seats. All three of the district seats are up for election.
Carmel Clay 1
One position is available.
Sheldon Barnes
Sheldon Barnes is an associate director for Eli Lilly and Company. Some previous positions he has held are systems consultant for OneAmerica, manager for Salesforce and quality assurance manager for Baker Hill, according to his LinkedIn page. He also served as a soldier for the Massachusetts National Guard for four years. Barnes has lived in Carmel, IN since 2010.He was involved in the Carmel Dad’s Club and previously served as a precinct committeeman and an election inspector. Some of the key ideas in Barnes’s platform include maintaining academic excellence as the focus of the schools, encouraging parents’ involvement, and ensuring CCS provides for students with disabilities. Barnes is the father of four kids who have attended Carmel schools.
Learn more about Barnes at https://www.sheldonbarnes.com/.
Jenny Brake
Jenny Brake was a director of guest and member services at College Park Church in Indianapolis and volunteered as the opening night chairman for the Heartland Film Festival. Some of Brake’s points outlined in her platform are setting good expectations between parents and teachers and focusing less on social and emotional learning to create a curriculum that focuses on proficiency in math, reading and writing. She also plans to familiarize parents with the ways they can enact change and facilitate conversations between parents and the school board. Brake has two children that graduated from Carmel-Clay schools and four grandchildren, one who attends CCS. Brake is running a joint campaign with Greg Brown and Dr. Adam Sharp.
Learn more about Brake at https://ccsboardcandidates.com/about/jenny-brake/.
Stephanie Flittner
Stephanie Flittner is a risk manager and assistant general counsel at the construction company Shiel Sexton, according to her LinkedIn page. Flittner also serves as an Indiana Wish board member and as the president of the Junior League of Indianapolis, an organization of women that aims to help a community through voluntarism and supporting women. She is also involved in the Hamilton County Republican Women’s Club. Flittner has two kids, one who is a CCS student and one who she says will be a student soon.
Flittner’s campaign includes ideas such as advocating for transparency from the board and accountability within the classroom and helping to recruit more bus drivers. Regarding curriculum, Flittner said on her website, “As we consider what we teach in our schools, we should consider the makeup of Carmel Clay students and evaluate what their needs are. Ideas that are popular in other districts might not be right for our students in Carmel.” When asked for additional comment, she said that the school board needs to look at certain factors such as how many students are in single-parent households and how many students are failing tests in Carmel-Clay in order to determine an effective curriculum.
Learn more about Flittner at https://www.stephanieflittner.com/.
Kristin Kouka
Kristin Kouka is an owner and speech-language pathologist at Therapy Redefined, a pediatric therapy clinic. She has worked in speech therapy at other sites such as Mini Minds and Pediatric Specialty Associates, according to her LinkedIn page. In her platform, Kouka’s priority is working as a liaison between the community and CCS. She plans to do this by implementing good communication, inclusive policies that include kids who have special needs and neurodivergent students, and ensuring the safety of students through resources such as Student Resource Officers. Kouka has three sons, two of whom attend Carmel Clay Schools. Kouka is endorsed by the Support CCS PAC, which supports values such as students acquiring cultural competencies, understanding that mental health is important for academic excellence, and supporting teachers with time, funding, respect and resources.
Learn more about Kouka at https://www.kristinforcarmel.com/.
Carmel Clay 2
One position is available.
Lori Long
Lori Long is the president and CEO of her own consulting firm Lori Long Consulting LLC and is the client vice president of proactive health management plans at Key Benefit Administrators. She also worked as an associate director of business consulting for EmployIndy, working to bring diverse talent to organizations, according to her LinkedIn page. In addition to her years of experience in consulting, Long also worked for years as a teacher, mainly taking jobs in elementary education, and was the director of a daycare for three years. Long’s platform centers around unifying students, teachers, parents and faculty to create an environment that fosters students’ success during and after CCS. Some of her goals she hopes to accomplish if elected include having every student feel safe in schools, working toward a common goal of student success and creating an environment where all students can grow and thrive. On her blog, Long shares her ideas about topics such as inclusivity, critical race theory and what she enjoyed about teaching. Long has one kid in Carmel-Clay Schools.
Learn more about Long at https://lorilongforschoolboard22.weebly.com/.
Jennifer Nelson-Williams
Jennifer Nelson-Williams was selected to replace former board member Pam Knowles, who stepped down Sept. 13, 2021. She was sworn in on Oct. 12, 2021. Nelson-Williams is the president and CEO of Aaron-Ruben-Nelson Funeral & Cremation Services Inc., where she had been working for more than 30 years, according to her LinkedIn page. She is also the co-founder for Women4Change Indiana Inc., an organization that aims to educate and mobilize Hoosiers to create positive change for women. Nelson-Williams has also volunteered for the nursing home Hooverwood Living and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Her platform includes supporting the teachers and administrators, ensuring students and their success are the focus of every decision and continuing the course of the district. Nelson-Williams' two kids attended and graduated from CCS. Nelson-Williams is endorsed by the Support CCS PAC.
Learn more about Nelson-Williams at https://elect-jennifer.com/.
Adam Sharp
Adam Dr. Sharp is the CEO for health care and tech company Galvan and is a recently-retired ER physician. Previously, Sharp has worked in multiple other medical-related positions, including as a research scientist and director of the care improvement research team at Kaiser Permanente and an assistant professor at the Indiana University department of emergency medicine. Sharp's platform emphasizes building on CCS academic programs, focusing on fiscal responsibility, providing kids with a broad subject range to study, and improving what he defined as a declining focus on academic achievement. He is running a joint campaign with Greg Brown and Jenny Brake. Sharp said on the website that he wanted to run with these two candidates because they are all focused on academics, transparency and parents’ rights. This candidate has three daughters, one who is a Carmel High School graduate and two who are current CCS students. Sharp is running a joint campaign with Greg Brown and Jenny Brake.
Learn more about Sharp at https://ccsboardcandidates.com/about/adam-sharp/.
Carmel Clay 3
One position is available.
Greg Brown
Greg Brown is retired, having worked for more than 35 years in the manufacturing industry. He served in multiple positions at Peerless Pump Company for more than 20 years and worked for General Dynamics Information Technology for about 10 years, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also volunteered for Boy Scouts of America, was a tutor for Nora Elementary School and served as a church elder. Brown's platform includes promoting the teaching of a wide skill set including vocational and soft skills, advocating for parents to be able to review the curriculum and library materials, and promoting transparency between the school board and parents. Brown's son attended CCS. Brown is running a joint campaign with Jenny Brake and Dr. Adam Sharp. Brown is running a joint campaign with Jenny Brake and Dr. Adam Sharp.
Learn more about Brown at https://ccsboardcandidates.com/about/greg-brown/.
Jake Nichols
Jake Nichols is the director of corporate operations for Palmer Trucks, where he has worked for more than 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is a graduate of Purdue University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching, and of Indiana Wesleyan University, where he earned his master of science in management. Some of Nichols’ values in he wants to bring to the board if he is elected are listening to and learning from parents, teachers, administrators and staff and being an encouraging force on the board. On his campaign website, Nichols said he supports the overall direction of the school and its guiding principles, such as ensuring students are at the center of decisions and recognizing that fiscal responsibility is important in achieving the schools’ goals. Nichols has three kids attending CCS. He is endorsed by the Support CCS PAC.
Learn more about Nichols at http://jakeisrunning.com/.
Early in-person voting has already begun in Indiana and will end on Nov. 7 at noon. Contact your County Clerk’s office to find locations and hours for early voting and for in-person voting on Nov. 8.
Voters can also vote absentee but need to request a ballot no later than Oct. 27, or 12 days before the general election on Nov. 8.
To request an absentee ballot, you must meet the requirements, which can be found online at in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/ways-to-vote. You can request online or by mailing or hand-delivering the application to your county election board or the Indiana Election Division. You also can email the application to elections@iec.in.gov.
Once received, you should mail the ballot back to your local county election office. Ballots must be received by election officials by 6 p.m. on Election Day, or it will not be processed.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Elections 2022: Meet the candidates for the Carmel Clay School Board
