Chris Wheedleton for Dorchester County School Board - District 5
About Me
Deep Roots
Chris, a proud Dorchester County native, completed his early education at Hurlock Elementary, North Dorchester Middle School, and graduated from the original North Dorchester High School building.
Board of Education Experience
In 1988, Chris served as the first student member on the Board of Education, sparking a passion for education leadership. Since June 2023, Chris has represented District 5 on the School Board after his appointment by the Dorchester County Council.
Professional Achievements
Chris worked multiple jobs to pay his way through college, earning a B.S. in Education from Penn State, and an MBA from Johns Hopkins. He has balanced a career in business and education innovation over the last 30 years. He has led a range of business operations from national teams responsible for multi-million $ revenue and 300+ employees to small start-up operations focused on making a difference in the community. He now helps organizations find solutions to their greatest challenges.
Community Engagement
Chris has worked in community engagement related to education and workforce development across the country for most of his career, and jumped in to help in any way he could locally, upon returning home to the farm in 2018. Since then, he has helped get two Nonprofits off the ground, led community engagement initiatives thru the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, the DCPS Blueprint Community Engagement meetings, the Dorchester Chamber, and continues to work in consultation with organizations looking to grow and better serve their communities.
Commitment to Service
With a strong commitment to community engagement and development, Chris's varied roles have included coaching sports, mentoring through Junior Achievement, and consulting in business and community service roles that emphasize bringing all voices together to collaborate and find solutions that make a positive and collective impact for all. He believes that TOGETHER we can create the conditions for all individuals in our community to thrive.
My Story
Early Years
Chris, a proud Dorchester County native, embodies the community's spirit. His educational journey included Hurlock Elementary, North Dorchester Middle School, culminating in being voted “Most Likely To Succeed” from North Dorchester High School in 1988.
In his senior year, Chris represented North Dorchester on the Board of Education as the first student member. He also was selected as the Dorchester County student representative in the General Assembly, was elected Lt. Governor for the entire Delmarva Peninsula for the international Key Club, won the American Legion Oratorical Contest, and earned the Rotary International “Service Above Self” award among other honors.
Continuous Education
Post-graduation, Chris was admitted to Penn State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and was certified as a Secondary Education Teacher. While at Penn State, Chris earned multiple honors while working to self-fund his education. He was recognized again with the “Service Above Self” award from Rotary International, was the founding President of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and received academic honors from the Order of Omega and the Quill & Scroll Society. He continued his learning throughout his career, earning his MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He also has done further master-level studies with University of Maryland and was certified as a Six Sigma Master Black Belt at the University of Minnesota.
Professional Career
Chris has had a career intersecting business and education. He spent 15 years in the consumer products industry with Nabisco, Kraft, and Pepsi in sales, management, and national leadership positions. He was able to leverage the training and experience he gained at those international corporations to get back to education as an executive at Edison Schools and Sylvan Learning, leading their online division nationally. He also led Corporate and Community Partnerships for University of Maryland as well as Purdue University in the startup of Purdue Global. All of those experiences led to a number of consulting opportunities that he turned into a full time business in 2016. He has worked since then with a variety of organizations across the country to help them build foundations and improve processes leading to positive growth and impact.
My involvement
Local Initiatives
Chris returned to home to the family farm in 2018 to help with some family needs. His older sister Candi Allebach, who taught for almost 30 years in the County at Sandy Hill and Warwick Elementary Schools was discovered to have cancer that she battled with amazing community support, but unfortunately lost in 2019. It was during this challenging time for the family that Chris started to realize that after years away from our community that he could start to engage locally and bring some of what he learned across the county, to meet needs in our community. He also worked to support the family needs that included his father, John Wheedleton’s (ND grad 1964) battle with PTSD that came from his service in the Army in Vietnam. Unfortunately, his father passed away in 2022 and the family continues to hold each other close as they manage through the real-life impacts of such losses. One of the most personally gratifying opportunities for the family is the work they are doing to restore Home Place Farm which celebrates 110 years in the family in 2024.
Commitment to Service
Chris continues to serve in multiple ways in our community. Throughout his career he has stayed close to education through volunteering with Junior Achievement, starting in 1995. He was able to work to gain philanthropic support totaling over $2M for them nationally and served on the Board for the Eastern Shore from 2019-23. He also has worked with Paul Dendorfer and the Blue Ruin team to raise over $20k for charities supporting young people with special needs over the last several years. Additionally, he worked to support philanthropic work with BAAM in Easton, the conversion of Moving Dorchester Forward to one of the leading nonprofit entities in the area, as well as served as the Co-Lead for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading for Dorchester County that continues to work to make an impact on the early learning and school readiness of all students in our community. Chris also led the Education Committee of the Dorchester Chamber from 2020-23 to help connect our business community to the educational system in ways that make real impact for our community.
School Board Appointment
In 2023, the Dorchester County District 5 School Board seat came open due to health challenges of long-time beloved educator and community leader Mrs. Laura Layton. Inspired by Mrs. Layton and the educators that set the path in front of Chris, he submitted his name for consideration and had the honor of being appointed by the Dorchester County Council to complete the remainder of the term, which runs through December 2024. Chris has enjoyed the work of the Board and has earned accolades from Parents, Teachers, and Students for his organized, empathetic leadership, and thoughtful questions to each issue that comes before the Board for consideration and action.
Some of the key impacts that Chris has been able to add to the Board as the appointed member representing District 5 include collaboration and development of:
> A monthly publicly available Data Dashboard capturing what is most important to the Board and Community in a clear and actionable way.
> Clearer connections to the Business Community and elevation of the new supports and resources associated with the Blueprint Career and College Readiness priority area.
> A reinstated CASE Agricultural program at DCTC to ensure that exposure to pathways to success in agriculture remain a viable part of the educational experience for students in our community.
After 1 year of service and learning what it takes to add value as a Board member, and with the encouragement of family and friends, Chris decided to submit his name for consideration by the voters of District 5 to continue his service for a full term.
Chris is committed to collaboration with all members of our community, educational excellence for our students, and helping to create the conditions for growth in our community. His experience, skills, passion, and transformative impact make him a compelling Board of Education candidate, poised to continue to meaningfully contribute to Dorchester County.
Chris welcomes any opportunity to discuss challenges, questions, perspectives, and ideas on how he can represent the needs of the entire community through the Board of Education.