Kevin M. Riley, who spent 20 years in the superintendency in Gretna, Neb., is assuming the presidency of the Horace Mann League for 2025-26.  

Riley served the Gretna Public Schools for a total of 37 years. Since 2019, he has worked as a faculty member in the educational leadership department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. 

Other Horace Mann League officers taking up their posts during AASA’s 2025 National Conference on Education are as follows: 

Gregg Fuerstenau, president-elect. He is the retired superintendent of the Taylorville School District and the Litchfield Public Schools, both in Illinois.  

Carl Hermanns, vice president. He is a clinical professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. 

Maria Armstrong, treasurer. She is former executive director of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents. 

Brent Clark, past president. He is executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. 

Four board openings also are being filled. 

A public education advocacy group, the Horace Mann League traditionally holds an installation and awards luncheon as part of the AASA national conference. Due to the organization staging its own conference in February, the Horace Mann League in New Orleans is co-sponsoring a reception with the National Superintendents Roundtable, the Superintendents Leadership Network and the Mid-American Association of School Superintendents from 5-6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 7, at the Marriott Warehouse Arts District Hotel. No reservation is required. 

The roundtable’s founder and former executive director, James Harvey, will be at the reception to signs copies of his childhood memoir, Grappling With Ghosts. Books will be available for purchase. 

The organization also is seeking new leadership. Jeanne Collins Deweese resigned in February as HML’s executive director. Jack McKay, who served in the post for three decades, will serve as interim director while a search for a new director is conducted.