News Release - Escárcega, Esser and Rankin sworn in as State Board of Education representatives

Jan. 13, 2021

Escárcega, Esser and Rankin sworn in as State Board of Education representatives

Board honors service of Flores and Goff

DENVER -  Prior to its first meeting of 2021, the Colorado State Board of Education held a ceremony on Wednesday to swear in Dr. Lisa Escárcega, Dr. Karla Esser and Joyce Rankin, who all won their seats in the November election.

Escárcega will represent the 1st Congressional District on the seven-member state board, replacing Dr. Valentina "Val" Flores, who held the seat for six years. Escárcega recently served as the executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives. Prior to CASE, she had been with Aurora Public Schools since 2002, most recently serving as the chief accountability and research officer. She began her 36-year career in education as a school psychologist, working in Michigan and Colorado and focusing on mental health, behavior and learning. Read more about Escárcega.

Esser will represent the 7th Congressional District, replacing Jane Goff who was term-limited. Esser recently retired from Regis University as the director of the Master of Arts in Education program. She started her 35-year career in education teaching German and social studies at Gateway High School in Aurora before moving to Germany to teach English. After 19 years in Germany, she returned to Colorado and Aurora Public Schools to continue her career as an instructional coach. Read more about Esser.

This will be Rankin's first full six-year term representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. She was first appointed to the board in 2015 to fill a vacancy. Rankin has been a lifelong education advocate, which has included a career as a teacher and elementary principal. She is currently a legislative intern for her husband state Sen. Bob Rankin. Read more about Rankin.

In addition, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis joined the board in honoring its outgoing members Flores and Goff in a virtual ceremony. Flores was elected to the board in 2015 to represent Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. Goff had represented the 7th Congressional District since 2008, when she was elected to her first six-year term. Goff was re-elected to a second term in 2014.

For information and the latest news, visit the Colorado State Board of Education webpage.