Dr. Mary Ann Burns is the new director of the South Central Regional Professional Development Center (SCRPDC). She has served for 39 years in the field of education.

Burns has been both a teacher and building administrator in public and private elementary schools, primarily in Osage County, Mo., her home community. For the past seven years, she has served as director of school improvement initiatives for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools, coordinating the statewide Professional Learning Communities Project, the Gold Star and Blue Ribbon Schools programs, and serving on a variety of committees and teams in the offices of quality schools and educator quality and most recently in the office of special education.

Burns says she is excited to begin this new chapter in her career as an educator. She looks forward to working closely with schools, teachers and leaders to help make schools better places and hopes to continue partnering with the Missouri S&T teacher preparation education. She feels blessed to be working with such a knowledgeable and skilled team of consultants in the center and to be shadowing the retiring director, John Lewis, during the month of June.