Featured Speaker: Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick

We're honored to welcome Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick as this year's featured speaker at the Shining Stars Gala!

In 2012, Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick was appointed as the first Presidential Scholar at Towson University. Dr. Grasmick is tasked with collaborating with the seven colleges across campus as well as external partners, to bring innovative education and leadership programs to campus. With a focus on preparing women for leadership roles, personalized education practices, and new models for more effective schools, she is committed to preparing students for success. 

In 2019, Dr. Grasmick commissioned a national study of leadership development programs. 

In 2021, the Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick Leadership Institute was opened on the Towson University campus.   The Institute features programs and research addressing the most challenging leadership and organizational issues of the day. In just three years, over 900 organizations from across the Baltimore region have partnered with the Institute in sending 2,700 participants to numerous leadership development programs. 

As a proud Towson University alumna, Dr. Grasmick served on the Board of Visitors at Towson University and co-chaired the Education Policy and Student Life Committee. Since 2022, she has served on the Towson University Foundation Board.

Prior to being appointed as the Presidential Scholar, Dr. Grasmick served as State Superintendent of top-ranked Maryland Public Schools for twenty years—from 1991 until 2011— serving 24 districts, 1,424 schools, and 869,113 students. During her tenure, for five years in a row, Maryland was ranked #1 in the country by Education Week, a national educational publication, and Advanced Placement scores for Maryland students were ranked as number one for more than six years.  As one of her final acts as State Superintendent, Dr. Grasmick secured a coveted $250 million Race to the Top grant from the United States Department of Education for Maryland.  

While a senior in high school, Dr. Grasmick lost her hearing due to a severe reaction to medication. While she eventually regained most of her hearing, this incident had a profound effect on her life. She became passionate about teaching, focused on the educational needs of children with disabilities. She began her career as a classroom teacher at the William S. Baer School for the Deaf in Baltimore City before serving as principal and as associate superintendent in Baltimore County. 

Dr. Grasmick is also affiliated with the Kennedy Krieger Institute.  The Kennedy Krieger Institute is internationally recognized for improving the lives of tens of thousands of children, adolescents and adults with neurological, rehabilitative or developmental needs through inpatient and day hospital programs, outpatient clinics, home and community services, education, and research.  Dr. Grasmick is on the faculty at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and is the co-director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education which focuses on mentoring and training future leaders in special education who have advanced understanding of learning in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and an expertise in applying their knowledge to school and classroom settings. Dr. Grasmick is currently on the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and for six years, until 2024, served as the Board’s first female President.

Dr. Grasmick also serves other educational institutions and organizations in a variety of capacities. She serves on the Board of the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy. She is a full professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since April 2015, she has served as the President of the Carson Scholars Fund Board of Directors.  She is on the Board of the Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Education, the Advisory Council of the American University College of Education, and the President’s Advisory Council of Notre Dame University.   She serves as a member of the Archdiocese of Baltimore School Board and serves as a national Judge for the McGraw Prize in Education/University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Grasmick is a member of the National Math and Science Advisory Board.   

Dr. Grasmick serves on numerous local community and cultural boards.  She was recently appointed to the Osler Medical Board of Johns Hopkins Hospital, as the only non-physician member.  She is on the Board and was the past-president of the Peabody Conservatory Board of Visitors, an international organization.  She serves on the Board of the National Aquarium, Board of the Maryland School for the Blind, the Maryland Family Network, the Governor’s BOOST Board, and the Yumi Cares Foundation.

Dr. Grasmick was also recognized nationally by being appointed to the U.S. Army War College Board of Visitors, 1998-2000. Recent additions to Dr. Grasmick’s lengthy list of awards are the 2020 Excellence in Education Award (Maryland Association of Boards of Education), 2020 Legacy Award (Maryland Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education, 2020 Champion of Education Award (College of Education, Johns Hopkins University), 2021 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award (Boy Scouts of Central Maryland), 2022 Woman of Influence (I-95 Business Magazine), 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award (Center Club), 2022 Trailblazers Award (Center Club), and the 2022 Naming of the Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick Room (Center Club).  In 2024, she received the Zanvyl Krieger Award by the Kennedy Krieger Institute which is awarded to a person who has given a lifetime of extraordinary service to Kennedy Krieger’s patients and students. Also in 2024, Dr. Grasmick was honored by the Johns Hopkins University Department of Education by designating the students entering the newly created “TeachWell” program as Grasmick Scholars.

Dr. Grasmick has been named as an “Icon” by the Daily Record and has been inducted into their Circle of Influence and recognized twice as an Innovator of the Year. Dr. Grasmick was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Maryland Business and Civic Hall of Fame by the Baltimore Sun.

Dr. Grasmick received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Towson University; her Master’s Degree in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University; and her Doctorate in Communicative Sciences from John’s Hopkins University.