Andrea Pilon Artman

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Andrea Pilon Artman

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Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 2, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Toledo, 2008

Graduate

University of Toledo, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Bremerton, Wash.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Andrea Pilon Artman ran for election for an at-large seat of the Frederick County Board of Education in Maryland. She lost in the primary on June 2, 2020.

Artman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Andrea Artman was born in Bremerton, Washington. She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in bioengineering from the University of Toledo in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Artman’s career experience includes working as the owner of a small business serving the biotech industry. She also held positions in regulatory affairs, quality engineering, and regulatory compliance.

Elections

2020

See also: Frederick County Public Schools, Maryland, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Frederick County Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Frederick County Board of Education At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sue Johnson (Nonpartisan)	21.4	61,130
✔		Jason Johnson (Nonpartisan)	16.4	46,717
✔	Submit photo	David Bass (Nonpartisan)	15.2	43,262
		Rae Gallagher (Nonpartisan)	14.6	41,623
		Lois Jarman (Nonpartisan)	13.9	39,555
		Dean Rose (Nonpartisan)	13.7	39,130
	Submit photo	Paulette Anders (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	2.9	8,389
		Other/Write-in votes	1.9	5,308

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 285,114
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Frederick County Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the primary for Frederick County Board of Education At-large on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sue Johnson (Nonpartisan)	18.4	23,368
✔		Lois Jarman (Nonpartisan)	15.3	19,477
✔		Jason Johnson (Nonpartisan)	14.7	18,755
✔		Rae Gallagher (Nonpartisan)	14.2	18,074
✔	Submit photo	David Bass (Nonpartisan)	12.5	15,934
✔		Dean Rose (Nonpartisan)	12.4	15,833
	Submit photo	Andrea Pilon Artman (Nonpartisan)	12.4	15,759

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 127,200
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Andrea Pilon Artman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Artman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Andrea is a promoter for equality and education, and feels a sense of urgency to advocate for the voices that are not being heard. She believes that all children have the right to be safe, feel love, and know that they can accomplish anything they set out to do. Through her personal search for information on socioeconomics in America, Andrea is more acutely aware of educational disparities and the impact it is having on our youth and society. Andrea wants to make a difference in the life of every child and family by providing students with the tools needed to build a positive present and a successful future.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• As a business owner, I bring a fresh perspective to the policy and key issues of education. By pulling from standards of other business areas, I can bring fresh ideas to enhance the public school system.
• I am a mother of two young children and have a vested interest in the success of FCPS.
• My background is in a highly regulated industry, medical device, while the regulations, laws, and policies are different, the experience of translating requirements into actionable policies will be invaluable.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Focus on the Whole Child: Children are faced with harsh realities at an earlier and earlier age. We must ensure our educational system can fully support the demands of our society and our students' needs. From emotional intelligence to access to mental health resources, we need to better support our youth. A focus on self health as well as achievement demands.

Ending racial inequality in educational outcomes: To make strides in this area, collaboration across multiple entities is essential. Policy experts, educators, advocates, parents, and the community are all needed to increase opportunities

Diversity & Inclusion: The culture of the school is essential. When every child has the sense of belonging, the school and community will flourish. It is my belief that leaving the hard questions in the shadows, only feeds the fire of "difference". It is in exploring our differences that we begin to understand just how similar we all are.

Educator/Staff Retention: It is my belief that educators and school administrators have a very difficult job and they do it with grace and compassion. Teachers bring out the dreamer, the inventor, the writer in all of us. They need our support and we need to ensure they are getting compensated for the work they do for our families, communities, and societies.

Community Building: With the demands of the world getting larger, and the expectations of our students ever increasing, it is important to ensure they have a community of people

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown - I realize this isn't a "politics and policy" book, but I believe the key to strong politics and sound policy is daring leadership. If we are unwilling to have difficult conversations and show empathy while having them, then elected officials are not doing their job. On the school board it is extremely evident what is at stake. We are looking at the education of our children. The future of our communities, country, and world.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first major historical event that happened in my lifetime was 9/11. I was in a current events class in high school. I was 16. I remember watching the coverage on a tiny tv. At the time, like most Americans, we didn't understand what it meant. Over the days to come, we continued to watch the coverage as it was the current event of our lifetime. The thing I remember the most is the heaviness of the air around us. It was as though the weight of the event continued to push upon us day after day.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Bleed the Same by Mandisa featuring TobyMac & Kirk Franklin

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

One of the greatest struggles I've had throughout my life is being my truest self. For as long as I can remember, I was working to fit the mold that was pushed upon me by family, friends, and society. Whether in my personal life or professional career, I was constantly putting on a mask to fit into the situation that was in front of me. As you might imagine, this creates isolation and loneliness. I've been on a journey in the past several years to remove the barriers that once stood between me and the world. While it is a very vulnerable position to be in, it has been a very freeing experience.

This topic is not something I discuss openly often, but if I can help one person that is struggling with this issue, then speaking out is worth it. It is in our individuality that new ideas can come to the surface. We all have something unique and beautiful to offer the world, but it can only happen when we let our true selves be seen.

Who are your constituents?

The Frederick County Community. I believe that the health of the public school system is an indicator of the health of the community. Having a school system that can provide skilled workers to a community is essential to fill jobs within the County. I believe it is important to have all generations invested in our public school system. Whether or not you have children or grandchildren in school, the school system is important for you. Good schools sustain property values, bring in new families (workforce) into the community, and train the next generation to be successful.

In addition, students, while generally not old enough to vote, are major constituents in this position. It is important to stand up for those who do not generally have a seat at the table. I believe it is important to create policy that engages our youth and provides them with the best opportunities in life. I want to hear about their challenges and put policies in place that will provide a more comfortable environment for them to learn and grow. Students should feel career or college ready when they exit FCPS, and I will work to ensure policies are in place to allow all students to reach their aspirations, no matter what they are.

What will you do to build a better relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

Parents are essential to the success of any school system. As a parent in the FCPS school system and current treasurer of an elementary PTA in the County, I understand the need for parent advocates. I will work to build relationships by showing up at events and talking to parents. Whether it is open house, sports, band, county PTA, open forums, etc. it is a point of contact to parents. It is important to hear from parents so we can better meet their needs to ensure a robust education for their students.

I believe in robust communication channels to parents so they know what and WHY changes are being made. As a member of the board of education, I will strive to have additional channels of communication at all levels in the school system. Timely, effective communication is essential to provide parents comfort in sending their children to school.

It is important to reach parents where they are in their cycle of parenting. Even something that is "old news" to teachers an administrators may be completely new and disruptive to a new kindergarten parent. They've never had to be involved in what is happening to the curriculum or student safety, but it is now the center of their sphere. I believe it is important to understand that there is constantly an influx of new parents coming into the school as well as new students, and there should be outreach efforts ongoing throughout the school year.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

Yes - It is important that the employee demographics are reflective of the students within the school community. It is important for our children to see themselves in their mentors and have our educators understand our student population. As with the above responses, as a member of the board, I would support policies that bolster our recruiting and retention abilities.

This has to be a fully intentional effort. The diversity of the staff will not happen without direct intentionality to do so. Increasing diversity is harder than other transformations due to barriers like unconscious bias. Therefore, it is more important to have a robust transformation plan that will explicitly address the impact of unconscious bias in decision making related to hiring. This takes a strong commitment from leadership at all levels.

In addition, the culture internal to FCPS needs to be assessed from a minority perspective. This is essential for the retention of any minority hires. If they do not feel comfortable in the working environment, they will not remain for long. It is suggested that honest feedback is sought from current minority staff to determine what changes can be made to improve their experience - there is always room for improvement.

Lastly, building relationships with minority professional groups and minority business groups is essential to get vacancies disseminated to possible candidates.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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