Board Members and Executive Director
The State Board of Education consists of eight voting board members. Seven of the eight voting members are appointed by the governor for terms of five years. The eighth voting member, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is an ex-officio voting member elected to a term of four years.
Board Members
Shawn Keough of Sandpoint retired as the executive director of the Associated Logging Contractors (ALC) in December of 2024. The ALC is an organization of Idaho based independent logging and wood hauling contractors with whom she worked for twenty four years. Her work experience over the course of her career is in the fields of business, association management, and public relations.
Shawn was appointed by Governor Brad Little to serve on the State Board of Education in the fall of 2019 and to a second term in early 2025.
She was elected to serve in the Idaho State Senate from 1996 to 2018, making her the longest-serving female State Senator in Idaho’s history at that time. Her service included 18 years on the legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, of which three years were as co-chair. In addition to other committees, she also served a total of five years on the Senate Education Committee. While serving in the legislature, her work in the area of higher education helped to lead expansion of higher education opportunities across Idaho including: expansion of North Idaho College satellite campuses in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry; expansion of online college courses; implementation of dual credit college courses for high school students; expansion of career technical programs; and, establishment of 4-year degree programs through all of Idaho’s public colleges and universities both in Coeur d’Alene and online. She retired from the legislature in 2018.
Ms. Keough’s main focus in life is her family. Shawn and Mike have two grown sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. Her husband graduated from the University of Idaho and taught in Idaho’s public schools for 35 years. Their sons grew up in Sandpoint, attended public schools and graduated from the University of Idaho and Boise State University. Her grandchildren are starting their education in Idaho’s public schools. Ms. Keough obtained an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston and an Associate of Science in General Studies from North Idaho College. Ms. Keough holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from Lewis-Clark State College.
Instruction, Research, and Student Affairs 
David Turnbull was appointed to the Idaho State Board of Education by Governor Brad Little, effective October 23, 2024.
Turnbull is chairman of Brighton Corporation, a Boise-based developer of residential, commercial, and mixed-use properties. Through his work with Brighton, he has remained actively involved in the Treasure Valley community, supporting organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, Special Olympics, and the YMCA.
Born and raised in Idaho Falls, Turnbull earned a degree in finance from Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Kristin, have four children.
Peter C. Koehler, a Parma native, brings more than two decades of military and public education leadership experience to the Idaho State Board of Education. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, before transitioning to education leadership roles as a teacher, principal, area director, and superintendent. He later served as Senior Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Staff at the Idaho State Department of Education.
Koehler earned degrees from the University of Idaho and Boise State University, and completed administrator certification through Northwest Nazarene University. He is active in several community and conservation organizations, including Trout Unlimited, the Henry’s Fork Foundation, the Idaho Community Foundation, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Kurt Liebich serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Boise-based RedBuilt LLC and New Wood Resources LLC. RedBuilt is a supplier of engineered structural solutions, and New Wood Resources operates veneer and plywood manufacturing facilities. He previously served on the executive management team for Weyerhaeuser Corporation, one of the world’s largest integrated forest products companies.
Liebich has served on the boards of numerous education-focused nonprofit organizations, including Idaho Business for Education, Project Lead the Way, Riverstone International School, and the Lee Pesky Center. He also served on Governor Brad Little’s “Our Kids, Idaho’s Future” Task Force focused on strengthening public education in Idaho.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bowdoin College and an MBA in General Management from Harvard University.
Cally J. Roach grew up on a family farm in southern Idaho and is the retired Vice President of Corporate Relations and Organizational Development for the employee-owned Clear Springs Foods.
Her extensive community and civic involvement includes service on the Idaho Parks and Recreation Board, the WWAMI/University of Idaho Advisory Board, the Idaho Business for Education Board of Directors, and the St. Luke’s Health System governance committee. She also previously served as president of the CSI Foundation, a board member of Agri-Service, Inc., and an executive committee member for the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry.
Roach earned a bachelor’s degree from Lewis-Clark State College and a master’s degree in human resource training and development from Idaho State University. She is a graduate of Payette High School.
Joel A. Beck is a trial attorney and partner and owner of Ruchti & Beck Law Offices in Pocatello. A lifelong Idahoan, Joel grew up in Aberdeen and graduated from Aberdeen High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Utah in 1998 and his law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law in 2002, where he served as an editor of the Idaho Law Review. He began his legal career in Twin Falls before returning to southeast Idaho in 2009 to establish his current law firm.
Joel has been active in education and public service throughout his career. He served as a trustee for American Falls School District #381 from 2017 through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, participating in budget, levy and bond decisions. He has also served on the boards of organizations supporting early-childhood education, workforce development, and student success. In August 2026, Governor Brad Little appointed Beck to the Idaho State Board of Education, representing Region 6, including southeast Idaho and Idaho State University. Beck and his wife, Ann, live in American Falls and have four children, all of whom were educated in Idaho public schools. Three attended Idaho State University, and one attended BYU-Idaho.
Earlier, Beck served on the board of directors of the Community Council of Idaho, the largest nonprofit organization serving Idaho’s Latino population. As a board member, he oversaw the organizations statewide programs on behalf of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and low-income families: Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, delivered through bilingual early-childhood centers across southern Idaho; community health clinics; affordable housing; and an employment and training division offering career counseling, occupational skills and on-the-job training, and a High School Equivalency Program for adults working toward a GED.
Beck currently serves on the board of directors of Friends of the Children – Eastern Idaho, the first and only Idaho chapter of the national organization, which pairs children facing the greatest obstacles with paid professional mentors from as early as age four through high school graduation — twelve or more years, no matter what. He also serves on the board of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association and belongs to the Theron Ward Chapter of the American Inns of Court and the Sixth Judicial District Bar Association.
Beck and his wife, Ann, a native of Pingree, met as high school sweethearts and make their home in American Falls. They enjoy traveling and the outdoors, especially fly fishing. They are the parents of four children, all of whom were educated in Idaho public schools and three attended Idaho State University and one attended BYU Idaho — a family experience that shaped his view of the state’s education system as one continuum running from kindergarten through college.
Mary Lynn Hartwell is the former Executive Vice President of The Hartwell Corporation and continues to serve as a member of the Hartwell Corporation board following its transition to an employee-owned corporation. Mary Lynn has served the community of Idaho Falls through numerous local positions. She served as a board member of the Idaho Community Foundation Emeritus Board, College of Eastern Idaho Finance Committee, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, Easter Idaho Economic Development Council, and more.
A respected philanthropist and tireless advocate for Eastern Idaho, Mary Lynn has devoted her life to strengthening the Idaho Falls community through generosity, vision, and service. Through her leadership and the lasting impact of the Ralph and Mary Lynn Hartwell Family Fund in The Idaho Community Foundation, she has helped create enduring support for charitable initiatives that improve lives across our region.
Debbie Critchfield was elected Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction in November 2022 and sworn into office on January 2, 2023.
Prior to her election, she served seven years on the Idaho State Board of Education, including two years as president. She also served as co-chair of Governor Brad Little’s Education Task Force in 2019, chaired Governor Butch Otter’s Higher Education Task Force committee in 2017, led the Re-Open Idaho Schools Committee in 2020, and served on the Governor’s K-12 Council.
Critchfield previously served ten years as an elected school board member in Cassia County, including five years as board chair, and was a member of the executive committee of the Idaho School Boards Association. She also served as a local library trustee and president of the Oakley Valley Arts Council.
Before becoming superintendent, she worked for nine years as public information officer for Cassia School District. A fourth-generation Idaho farm family, Critchfield and her husband, Dave, live in Oakley, where they raised their four children and now enjoy time with their grandchildren.
Executive Director
Jennifer White serves as Executive Director of the Idaho State Board of Education, where she leads and coordinates statewide efforts across K-12 and higher education. Her oversight includes agencies and organizations such as Idaho Career and Technical Education, the Idaho Public Charter School Commission, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Idaho Public Television.
Before becoming executive director, White served as Assistant Vice President for Finance and Operations and Senior Counsel for Government Relations at Boise State University. Her professional experience also includes work as in-house counsel for a major corporation, as a litigator in the Washington, D.C., area, and in the offices of former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne and former Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch.
White is a graduate of Vallivue High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Willamette University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law.
Executive Director
Jennifer White
(208) 332-1571