Board Members
Ana Chapman, President
achapman@bereaschools.org
Began Service: January 1, 2014
Current Term Expires: December 31, 2025
Ana and her husband John (BHS ‘89), a music teacher in the BCSD, live in Berea. They have three children: Julia (BMHS '17) is a graduate of Michigan State University and is a fourth grade teacher at Brook Park Elementary School, Jack (BMHS ‘19) is a 2024 graduate of Ohio State University, and Carter (BMHS ‘24) is a freshman studying Sports Management at Bowling Green State University.
As a volunteer in the BCSD schools since 2004, the community, and the Ohio PTA, she’s learned the importance of advocating for children and giving selflessly. Her volunteer positions include serving as a trustee of the Education Foundation, serving on the Committee for Good Schools, chairing several bond issue and levy campaigns, working for the athletic boosters, band boosters, and PTAs at Parknoll, Roehm, Grindstone and PTA Council. She served as president of the Ohio PTA from 2019-2021.
She was honored by the White House as a “Champion of Change” for her PTA work in 2012. She has presented workshops at the local, state, and national level for school board and PTA on topics such as labor relations, communication, social media, leadership, and family engagement. She has earned Master Board Member recognition, the Award of Achievement and the Aptitude Award from the Ohio School Boards Association. She also serves on OSBA’s statewide Ambassadors for Public Education.
Ana holds a Master of Education from Cleveland State University and Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami (FL), and is in her thirty-second year of teaching elementary music in the Beachwood City Schools.
Ana is Cuban-American, grew up in Miami, Florida, a first generation American and first generation to attend college, and is fluent in Spanish.
Began Service: Appointed March 7, 2022
Current Term Expires: December 31, 2025
Rick and his wife, Shelley, live in Berea. Rick is a retired BCSD Intervention Specialist. Shelley is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, providing services in Medina County and working for the AT&AEM Center in Columbus. They have two adult married children and two toddler granddaughters.
During Rick’s 30+ years in the District, he taught in each community and at every level. The majority of his career was spent at Midpark HS, where he ended his teaching career as the Special Needs Curriculum Leader and the Head Girls and BoysCoach for both Cross-Country and Track. After retiring from teaching, he continued to coach until 2018.
Rick has been an active volunteer in many different groups over the years, including being an AFS Host parent, a community RecLeague and CYO coach, former Kiwanian, and founder of the Berea-Midpark Solidarity Group. The latter group included students and staff who traveled to El Salvador for seven consecutive summers to build homes and develop solidarity with the people of San Jose Villanueva, ES. Rick continues to mentor former athletes as they move into coaching and other ventures.
Cori Farris, Board Member
cfarris@bereaschools.org
Began Service: January 1, 2016
Current Term Expires: December 31, 2026
Cori and her husband Jay have been residents of Middleburg Heights for over 25 years. They have two children who graduated from Berea City Schools.
Cori has always been active in the community, having served on the boards of several non-profit organizations over the years, as well as nearly 10 years on the Middleburg Heights Planning Commission. She was heavily involved in the passage of the 2016 bond issue which allowed for the construction of Brook Park Elementary and Berea-Midpark High School. She is currently on the district's Business Advisory Council and the Financial Oversight Committee. Outside of the school board, she is currently a long-serving board member for the Friends of the Middleburg Heights Library.
Her interests include reading, music and television, and spending time with her family, which includes her Great Dane, Eddie.
kmichal@bereaschools.org
Began Service: January 1, 2024
Current Term Expires: December 31, 2026
Katie, alongside her husband Brian, resides in Brook Park with their three sons. A native of Middleburg Heights, she's a 2006 graduate of Berea High School, maintaining a lifelong connection to the district - initially as a student, later as a parent, and presently as a school board member.
She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Art Education from Syracuse University in 2010, followed by a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2013.
With 14 years of experience as an art teacher in the North Olmsted City School District, Katie has provided instruction across various levels - primary, intermediate, middle, and high school. She is currently teaching at the intermediate level. Beyond her teaching responsibilities, she serves as the drama club advisor and has previously served as both the art club advisor and a cross country coach.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, making art, and running.
Began Service: January 1, 2022
Current Term Expires: December 31, 2025
Heather and her husband Chris live in Berea with daughter Aurelia (class of 2025) and son Kip (class of 2027). Heather is the past president of Grindstone Elementary and Berea-Midpark Middle School PTAs. She has served as a National PTA Equity Fellow and is a former member of National PTA’s Family Engagement Committee. Heather has been awarded the Berea PTA Council Helping Hands Award, the district’s Be A Titan Award and in 2020 was named Parent of the Year by the Ohio Middle Level Association.
Heather has been engaged in the practice of law since 2002. She is currently the Director of the Miller Becker Center for Professional Responsibility and Assistant Professor at the University of Akron School of Law.
Heather enjoys traveling with her family, reading, live music and art.