Charles Miller has been an active volunteer with local PTAs over the past several years, tackling increasingly responsible leadership roles in his low-key way. The Marysville man was recently elected as Washington State PTA Region 7 Director, which includes the school districts in Snohomish County and most of Island County.

"I'm just a team leader, and I have a team of twelve incredible people who help make sure the work gets done," said Miller.

The regional leaders are involved in outreach and training programs with local PTA units, with a special focus this year on encouraging minority representation in the state's PTAs.

"With a grant from WaMu, we're rolling out a program called Emerging Minority Leaders," said Miller. "We hope to foster more diversity in PTAs."

As a male, Miller is somewhat of a minority himself in the PTA organization, although he said more men are becoming actively involved.

"It's cool to be a dad and be involved in your kids' school," said Miller. His son is a student at Tulalip Elementary School.

Miller began his PTA involvement in the Lakewood School District, and he later joined the Tulalip PTSA, where he served as vice president, webmaster, newsletter co-editor, and tackled a number of other volunteer positions. He served as local unit president for two years, and was a member of the scholarship committee for the Marysville PTA Council. For the past two years, Miller has taken on the role of Region Membership Director.

"Outreach is the key to making PTA the best choice for parents," said Miller. "I will work with my team to develop a plan to reach the smaller non-council local PTA units to make them feel welcomed and important to the organization."

He continued, "I plan on getting as much training as possible for myself and my team to promote leaders who can deliver the necessary training to the local units and councils."

In addition to his involvement with PTA, Miller is a college student working toward a degree in multimedia web design. He spends his summers volunteering for the Monte Cristo Preservation Association as well as the U.S. Forest Service as a town site steward.