Executive Board 

Dan O’Brien is a founding executive board member of NESPRA, beginning as Vice President (2022-2024), and becoming President in May 2024 (2024-2026). As President, Dan’s goal is to keep NESPRA on a path of continuous improvement and sustainability, while particularly ensuring members have ongoing opportunities for networking and professional development. Dan is passionate about growing intentionality around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in school communications.

Dan is the Chief Communications Officer for Worcester Public Schools, an urban district of about 25,000 students in Central Massachusetts. Dan previously led communications for Boston Public Schools and the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District in Massachusetts.

Prior to K-12, Dan was an assistant director of communications for Emerson College in Boston. Before that, he worked as a newspaper reporter for the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, New Hampshire Union Leader, and Lynn Daily Item. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

I bring to NESPRA my passion and commitment to public education packaged with stellar communications and leadership skills that have been finely honed over a 27-plus year career in public relations/communications. I have been director of communications for Holyoke Public Schools since October 2021. Prior, I was a program manager for the Communications Service of the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and later a grant writer. I was a long-time member of the New York Public Relations Association (NYSPRA) and remain an active member of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). I have served as an NSPRA communications auditor and as a project manager, which included leading and supporting communications audits for public schools in the U.S. and providing team leadership and support to the NSPRA School Finance Benchmarking Project Team tasked with authoring a guidance primer for conducting effective school budget and bond finance campaigns.

Although I am relatively new to NESPRA, I am no stranger to school communications and am extremely passionate about this work. I have really enjoyed my time spent in NESPRA meetings as connecting with others has been extremely motivating. The NESPRA members have graciously shared so much of their work with the team. Reviewing best practices, what has and hasn't worked across New England has been so beneficial. In the short time I've been with NESPRA I have found these conversations to be so helpful that I would like to take on a leadership role, specifically as Membership Coordinator, to further grow our team. We know there are many other individuals in New England doing this type of work who may not have ever heard of NESPRA. As Membership Coordinator, I think I could make a positive impact on others by inviting them to join this great community of talented individuals while bringing new voices to the table. I'd like to find new ways to spread the word about NESPRA and the support our group can offer others. Thank you for considering me for Membership Coordinator. 

Since taking on my role, I've seen significant growth on our social media channels, allowing us to build a community while celebrating the work happening in New Britain. Building that community has also helped us in challenging times as our work has had a great impact on the community's perception of the school system. I was very proud to present our social strategies at a recent NESPRA session and look forward to further highlighting New Britain at the upcoming NESRA conference. I have a Bachelor's Degree from SCSU, where I was recently recognized by the Department as a Distinguished Alumni. I feel strongly any great communications team should be invested in their community. I am a volunteer Board Member for the Ana Grace Project Scholarship, worked with a colleague to launch a new scholarship for a graduating senior interested in communications, and created new internship opportunities to support NBHS students.

As with most New England states, Vermont was slow to recognize the necessity and value of a full-time communications professional. When I was hired, I was the first in my district and I believe only the third in the state. Thankfully, I eventually found NSPRA and shortly after that, I started connecting with other school PR professionals in my region. Over the next few years, superintendents and school boards across the state started to understand the advantages of having someone on staff with a communication focus. While our role continues to grow, the accomplishments I’ve made in my district have led me to become a resource to Vermont leaders looking to add communications personnel to their districts. I often provide input on job postings, review applications, and mentor some of the new hires. The more I got involved in the network and mentorship aspect of school communications, the more I became passionate about the benefits of being connected. When the idea was pitched by NSPRA to create a New England Chapter, I knew I wanted to be involved from the start. While I didn’t anticipate taking on a leadership role on the formation committee, that is ultimately where I landed. There was a lot to do over the past six months but with each completed checkmark, we got closer to becoming an official resource for school communication professionals in the Northeast and I could not be more proud of that work. I am incredibly excited to be a part of our next steps. I believe offering timely, well-focused, and intentional professional learning with varied options for networking will serve us all (myself included!) very well in the early stages of our Chapter. Thank you for your consideration in allowing me to lead NESPRA and the fine group of professionals that will contribute to it. 

Stories have always been a passion of mine, both as a storyteller and as a consumer. I earned my BA in TV Production from Westfield State in MA and spent the first part of my career as a news photog for two NBC affiliates. Working for the media gave me an appreciation and understanding of how stories are identified, created, presented. I spent the next nine years honing my crisis management skills fielding 9-1-1 calls and commanding radio traffic for emergency services as a dispatcher. This adrenaline-filled desk job taught me how to ask probing questions, the importance of filtering out "noise" to recognize important details, and to be hyper-aware of layered scenarios and repercussions. Going into my sixth year as Director of Communications for Colchester Schools, I enjoy sharing my own experiences and resources through mentorships but very much look forward to advancing my knowledge of PR in the near future through APR or a MA in Strategic Communications. 

Esmeralda is excited to represent her new home state of Massachusetts and looks forward to increasing collaboration amongst NESPRA members and enhancing the board's DEIB goals. 

Originally from South Texas, Esmeralda Casas received a BA in Psychology at Texas A&M University. In 2021, Esmeralda moved to Massachusetts to join Ashland Public Schools as their first Media and Communications Director, focusing on engaging diverse district community members through accessible, transparent, and design-forward communication. As a transplant and a one-person shop, she took the initiative to find professional development opportunities and build relationships in her new community, joining NESPRA early on.

I am looking to serve NESPRA because I would like to give back to the remarkable community of amazing humans in the organization. The onboarding process as my district's first full-time communication professional with a background in higher education and educational program management was an exciting yet challenging process. NESPRA was instrumental in helping me create a network of trusted peers and connecting with veteran school communicators.

New Hampshire seems to be slowly becoming more aware of a school communicators' value and I would like to support raising that awareness.

As storytellers, we yield a powerful tool and big responsibilities. I believe in NESPRA’s mission and the importance of providing support and professional development opportunities to school communicators.

"I lead, manage, counsel, and coordinate the Oyster River Cooperative School District's (SAU5) communication strategy and program with a focus on community outreach and engagement. I maintain the district's brand and vision in all messaging guided by the district's philosophy and in accordance with ORCSD requirements and board policies. 

I received a BA in Ancient Studies and Graduate Diploma in Public Relations from Université Laval.

My previous professional experience is in educational program management and marketing in K-12, higher education, and immersive exhibits. I previously served as board member (VP of Programming and VP of DEI & Community) for three different chapters of the American Marketing Association (New Mexico, Triangle, and Boston).

I am a first-generation immigrant and native French-Canadian speaker."

I want to be more involved, and learn more about how best to educate the public about my school. I know that there are people who have so much to share, and by having this group be active everyone will benefit. 

I am just learning all the ways to accomplish the goals of communication, so I am the perfect person to be sure that decisions and trainings will impact "newbies"