UDC's Board of Trustees

Reginald M. Felton

Board Treasurer

Mr. Felton was appointed to the Board of Trustees in January 2010, where he serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Budget & Finance Committee and the Facilities Committee. Although a native Washingtonian, Mr. Felton spent his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mr. Felton currently is the director of federal relations at the National School Boards Association (NSBA), where he is responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive legislative strategies and representing the interests of local school boards on Capitol Hill and with the Administration.   His principle assignments have included the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Head Start, and the Higher Education Act (HEA).  He also has worked extensively on issues impacting the business operations of local school districts.

Prior to his affiliation with NSBA, Mr. Felton was a senior executive with the U.S. Department of the Navy, where he served in key policy development positions on the staffs of the assistant secretary of the Navy (Office of Manpower and Reserve Affairs) and the Chief of Naval Operations.  His areas of responsibility included human resources management, shore installation management, and congressional relations.  Mr. Felton’s professional career also includes serving as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.  He continues to serve as a consultant in the areas of public policy, communications, and organizational development at the regional and national levels within both public and private sectors.

From 1994 to 2004, he served as an elected member of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Education, one of the largest school systems in the nation with nearly 140,000 students and an operating budget of more than $2.0 billion.  In 1996, he was elected president and became the first African-American to serve in this position.  He served two terms as President in 1998 and 2001.  In 2007, Mr. Felton received an appointment from the Governor of Maryland to serve on the Board of Trustees at Montgomery College (Maryland). His public service also includes terms as Commissioner and Mayor of Highland Beach, Maryland, a small beach community outside of Annapolis, founded by Charles Douglass, son of Frederick Douglass.

Felton is also involved in his community, serving as Vice President, Board of Directors of the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, a non-profit tutorial programs serving over 3000 students; and on the Board of Directors of the Rudolph W. Snowden Memorial Scholarship Fund, Inc, providing postsecondary scholarships.  

Felton holds a B.A. degree in sociology from Howard University; an M.S. degree in urban studies from Tulane University; and certificates from the Federal Executive Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Felton is married to Dianne L. Felton, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Mental Health America, Alexandria, Virginia.  They have one adult son.  He and his wife reside in Washington DC.