DoWEA appoints family and stakeholder engagement officers for Mid-Atlantic and Southeast districts

Americas Director for Student Achievement Matthew Kirby has announced the appointment of Dr. Andrea Marr as Family and Stakeholder Engagement Officer for the Americas Mid-Atlantic District and Hugh McKinnon as Family and Stakeholder Engagement Officer for the Americas Southeast District.

“Dr. Marr and Hugh McKinnon bring deep experience leading DoWEA schools and a strong understanding of the unique needs of military-connected families,” Kirby said. “Their leadership will strengthen partnerships, improve two-way communication, and help ensure stakeholder voices contribute to student success across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast districts.”

The Family and Stakeholder Engagement Officer position was established under the July 2026 DoWEA Blueprint for Continuous Improvement to create a more deliberate approach to stakeholder engagement. FSEOs serve as dedicated points of connection among schools, families, military installations, community organizations and district leadership. They support advisory committees, facilitate partnerships and ensure feedback reaches District Superintendents and Regional Directors for Student Excellence in a timely manner.

Marr most recently served as Community Superintendent at Camp Lejeune. Her career in education spans more than two decades, beginning in the Harnett County School District, where she taught English language arts and history and later served as an instructional coach. She then directed the Cambridge International Curriculum for the Yuma Union High School District in Arizona, leading initiatives that significantly improved ACT and Cambridge Assessment scores across multiple high schools. Since joining DoWEA in 2017, she has served as assistant principal at Barsanti Elementary School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; principal at Murray Elementary School at Fort Stewart, Georgia; and principal of Fort Campbell High School, where she led a comprehensive system that improved school-wide literacy rates. Marr holds a doctorate in administration and educational leadership from Liberty University, an educational specialist degree in leadership and administration, and a master’s degree in administration from Walden University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Fayetteville State University and holds a K-12 Structured English Immersion endorsement from Arizona Western University. An Army veteran who served as a military police officer and with The Old Guard in Arlington, Va., she brings firsthand understanding of military life to the role.

McKinnon most recently served as Community Superintendent for Fort Campbell Schools. Before that, he was principal at Barsanti Elementary School, Fort Campbell High School and Mahaffey Middle School. He also served as assistant principal at Andersen Middle School and taught at the elementary and middle school levels in Iceland and Guam. His career has included work as a teacher or administrator for DoWEA in Europe, the Pacific and the Americas, and he played a key role in establishing DoWEA’s schools in Guam in 1997. McKinnon earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nevada and a master’s degree from the University of Guam. He and his wife, Lori, have two sons.

The FSEO role reflects DoWEA’s investment in listening, responding and building stronger relationships with the military-connected communities it serves. In their new roles, Marr and McKinnon will help ensure stakeholder perspectives inform continuous improvement efforts across their respective districts.