In July, 2006, Shawn Kurrelmeier-Lee became the Chief Reading Officer (CRO) for Read 20, the Hamilton County Reading Initiative.  As the CRO, she leads this public/private partnership in its efforts to promote literacy skills for early childhood, to create a community of readers, and to support Hamilton County’s literacy goal.  She was previously the Vice President of the Public Education Foundation (PEF) responsible for fiscal and management oversight in addition to directing several programs focused on teacher quality, leadership, and community engagement.

 Prior to joining PEF, she was the Executive Director of the Center for Nonprofits and a consultant in nonprofit management, board development, and strategic planning.  Before assuming that position, she served as Vice President of Educational Programs and the Director of the Siskin School for nine years.  She currently holds office as one of nine commissioners for the National Commission for the Accreditation for Special Education Services.  Her skills have been widely recognized in her several fields of expertise; and she has presented at conferences nationally, regionally, and locally.

 In 2007, she was honored by the American Lung Association as one of ten Women of Distinction from the Chattanooga area.   A 1999 graduate of Leadership Chattanooga, she is very active as a community volunteer.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Leadership Institute and was chair of the annual leadership event for 2006.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Signal Centers, Inc., RE:START The Center for Adult Education and was President of that board for 2008-2009, and WTCI; She is past chair of the Junior League of Chattanooga’s Advocacy and Public Awareness Committee and past president of Tennessee’s Advocacy and Public Awareness Committee for all eight leagues across the state.

 She is married to John Lee, a prosecutor for Hamilton County, and has two children.