Beverly Raimondo, a 22-year member of the Prichard Committee leadership team who created the popular and long-running Governor’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, died June 23 after a lengthly battle with cancer.
In 1991, Raimondo left a career in management at IBM in Lexington to join Bob Sexton at the Prichard Committee and to coordinate community and grassroots support for implementation of the recently enacted school reform efforts. Her own experiences as a parent sparked an interest in improving the link between schools and families.
Bev Raimondo
Raimondo continued to lead the program through 2013.
Cindy Heine, retired associate executive director of the Prichard Committee, who worked closely with Bev for many years commented, “Bev added such tremendous value to the Prichard Committee’s work and goals for school improvement. She was also a dear friend and will be missed terribly.”
“Bev touched so many lives by empowering parents all across Kentucky to help support and expect school improvement. Having participated in CIPL in 1999, Bev was incredibly influential in my own advocacy for excellence in education – as a parent, a local elected school board member, later as a state board of education member and now, leading the Prichard Committee. Bev’s passion and vision for citizen engagement in service to our schools and our students will live on in all aspects of the Prichard Committee’s work”, said Brigitte Blom Ramsey, executive director of the Prichard Committee.
Visitation services will be Wednesday, June 29 from 12-2 p.m. at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home in Lexington. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 29 at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home. Burial will follow at The Lexington Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute www.dana-farber.org, Hospice of the Bluegrass, The Lexington Children’s Theatre, The Salvation Army, Lexington, The Prichard Committee GCIPL Program.
