Stillwater Public Education Foundation welcomes new executive director (2024)

The Stillwater Public Education Foundation hired a new executive director – one with a passion for education and for the community.

The Stillwater Public Schools Board of Education approved Emily Lewis as executive director on May 9. Previously, Ashlee Robertson had served as executive director for three years.

SPEF’s mission is to build strong community connections and support for SPS, and Lewis said she is planning to continue that mission.

SPEF raised approximately $147,000 for the district in the 2023-24 academic year. Since its founding in 1984, SPEF has given back more than $1.8 million to SPS.

Lewis said the “sky’s the limit” on what can be done.

“This is a fantastic opportunity, and I’m so glad to be a part of this organization,” Lewis said.

Lewis has a background in business management, public relations, marketing and event planning. She has worked in health care administrative roles, in addition to volunteer roles in Parent Teacher Associations and organizations at OSU.

Lewis is originally from northwest Arkansas and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s of science in marketing. She also received her MBA from John Brown University.

Lewis lives in Stillwater with her husband, Paul Lewis, and three young sons. She said the job came at the right time for her, just as her kids are now all in school. She had been hoping to find a job that would fit her skill set while allowing her to still be involved at her sons’ school.

“This (job) is perfect,” Lewis said. “It’s combining so much of what I love to do – the nonprofit world with event planning with making sure we’re filling the gaps of public education and making an impact (for) the students in Stillwater.”

When they had the opportunity to move back to Stillwater, the Lewises were thrilled because they knew it was “a great place to raise a family,” Lewis said.

Lewis has been dreaming, along with the SPEF board, about what they can do for the future of public education in Stillwater.

“I have a heart for public education, making sure teachers have what they need to be able to serve our children, making sure that they feel supported and have resources,” Lewis said.

She said she knows that many teachers are at the school buildings before sunrise each day, preparing for their students and their classes.

“We want them to know that they have cheerleaders ... if our state is unable to provide funding or maybe not move quickly when they see a need,” she said.

SPEF raised more than $63,000 for teacher grants in the 2023-24 academic year.

The SPEF allocations committee reviews the SPEF grants that teachers apply for and most of the needs are met, Lewis said.

“Grants really only get denied if they don’t fit within our guidelines,” Lewis said. “... I want to make sure all of our teachers know about SPEF and reach out to us as a resource.”

There are other grants available to teachers, and she hopes to facilitate those, as well.

Other projects SPEF funded included $21,000 for new technology for Pre-K classrooms and $15,200 for Elite Repeat Grants for classroom supplies, library materials and the Pioneer Pantry (a collaborative effort to raise money for students who need basic supplies and snacks).

SPEF also raised $14,800 for aviation drones for high school aviation classes, $5,350 for the Grady Lambert Memorial Library at Lincoln Academy and $4,300 for teacher awards and recognition.

SPEF holds two big events per year.

One is the Taste of Stillwater event, which is a community and districtwide event benefiting SPEF where guests may sample food and beverages from local restaurants at the Payne County Expo Center. The next Taste of Stillwater is coming March 2025.

In September, SPEF will be hosting the Celebration of Education. This year, the focus is on SPEF’s 40th anniversary.

“This (event) will highlight the anniversary, how far SPEF has come and how the district has grown,” Lewis said.

She said the SPEF board will go back and look at grants from the 1980s and compare what the district was needing back then with what is needed today.

“If in 1984, we would have known that we would have been able to provide 40 iPads this year, I doubt anybody back then would have seen that coming,” Lewis said. “It’s fun to see the technology and the classroom changes.”

She’s also excited about a new membership program called Friends of SPEF, which was initiated by former director Robertson and will be rolled out in the fall.

Corporate sponsors are the “backbone” of what SPEF does, she said, but the Friends of SPEF is also geared toward individuals, students and families who may want to be a stakeholder at SPEF and a part of providing excellent education in Stillwater.

For more information about the program, call 405-707-5006 or visit spef.stillwaterschools.com/.

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