Mandy Cohen, Jim Hunt honored, 6 inducted into Wake County Public Schools Hall of Fame

Former Gov. Jim Hunt and secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen were among the individuals honored during WakeEd Partnership's Stars of Education Gala.

Hunt was honored with the Robert E. Bridges Lifetime Achievement Award while Cohen was honored with the Vernon Malone Friend of Education Award.

Six other individuals were inducted into the Wake County Public School System Hall of Fame:

Jeffery Richardson has dedicated more than 43 years to teaching and advocating for arts education in Wake County. His legacy as the director of the Broughton Magnet High School Band, twenty years of service on the Theatre in the Park Board of Directors, and most recent role teaching at Underwood Magnet Elementary School are just some of Jeffery’s notable contributes to arts education in Wake County and beyond.

Serving as a dedicated educator and legendary baseball coach for more than 43 years, Milton Senter led Fuquay-Varina High School athletes to more than 600 wins and four state championships throughout his career. In addition to coaching for Wake County Public Schools, Milton is also the Co-Founder of the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer Baseball League.

Gordon Brown is the Chief Financial Officer of Alfred Williams & Company. He has a long track record of service in support of Wake County children and schools through his leadership with the Boys & Girls Clubs serving Wake County and WakeEd Partnership.

Morehead-Cain Scholar and co-founder of Young Americans Protest (YAP!) Greear Webb got his start as a community organizer at Sanderson High School where, in response to the Parkland school shooting in 2018, he organized a student-led, statewide town hall to prevent gun violence in schools. Greear is also the co-founder of student-led nonprofit N.C. Town Hall and, in 2020, was appointed to Governor Cooper’s Juvenile Justice Planning Committee.

Muriel Summers is a pioneer in education. In addition to serving as an educator and award-winning principal for more than 38 years, Muriel partnered with Franklin Covey to create the globally implemented Leader in Me program, integrating Covey habits and leadership development into all aspects of school and learning. As principal of A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School, Muriel created the first leadership elementary school in the nation – a model currently being used by more than 3,000 schools worldwide.

Victoria Scott-Miller is the founder of Liberation Station Bookstore, an independent pop-up bookstore amplifying Black voices in children’s literature. Since 2019, the mobile store has set up shop throughout Central North Carolina and is currently working with local businesses to install permanent libraries for children of color throughout the state. In a short time, Liberation Station has garnered national attention, as booksellers continue to promote literacy in unconventional spaces and engineer creative programming to ensure that all Black children are “seeing themselves and being seen.”