Former high school History and Government teacher Angela McLean also served as the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Montana.

Many talented educators also achieve success in the political arena. One of these is Angela McLean, a high school history and government teacher who became the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Montana. Angela was the first classroom teacher and only the second woman to serve in this position in Montana history.

Angela was born on August 19, 1970, In Twin Bridges, Montana. After she graduated from Twin Bridges High School, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana Western. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Montana Missoula. Angela was the first person in her family to graduate from college.

As a beginning teacher, Angela taught at Montana’s Arlee High School from 1994 to 1997. She taught at Anaconda High School from 1997 until she was appointed Lieutenant Governor on February 17, 2014. She held the position until 2016. At the time of her appointment, Angela was the chairwoman of the Montana Board of Regents, a position she held from 2012 to 2014. She also served on the Montana Board of Public Education and as an adjunct professor at Montana Tech of the University of Montana. After she left office, Angela served in the position of director of American Indian and minority achievement in the office of the state commissioner of higher education.

This remarkable educator credits her former teachers for her adult successes. “As a high schooler waiting tables at the Blue Anchor Cafe, it would have been hard for me to imagine one day becoming Lieutenant Governor – but great teachers and the support of my friends, my community, and my family have made today possible for me,” she said on the day she was appointed. These teachers “made me believe the sky was the limit,” she continued. “I think, even at times when the challenges I felt were so overwhelming that I might not have believed it, they made me see it. So I hope that somewhere along the line I made a difference in the lives of my students the way the teachers in my life made a difference.”

To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion, see this link at Milken Educator Awards.com.