Brenda M. Diaz, a Montgomery County Public Schools social studies teacher, is running for the at-large seat on the Montgomery County Board of Education. The nonpartisan race appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot. Omar Lazo is also certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Diaz said she wants to end what she calls rubber-stamping on the current board and redirect the district's $3.78 billion budget toward classrooms, according to her campaign website. This is her second board race. Diaz said she ran in 2024 for the District 2 board seat, earning 42.7% of the vote (172,546 votes) before losing to Natalie Zimmerman, in her responses in The Banner's voter guide.

Candidate information

  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: Bachelor of science in international relations (major: international politics; minor: Latin American studies), Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service; master's in social studies teacher education, George Washington University (2015), according to her voter guide responses and BallotReady profile data
  • Honors: James Madison Memorial Fellow, a nationally competitive honor awarded by an Act of Congress to outstanding teachers of American history and government, Diaz said in her voter guide responses. She also said she is a Buchwald Fellow and was selected two years in a row for National Endowment for the Humanities Landmark seminars.

Experience and public service

Diaz said she has held the following roles, according to her campaign website and voter guide responses:

  • High school social studies teacher, Montgomery County Public Schools (2015–present)
  • Middle and high school social studies teacher, Fusion Global Academy (present)
  • Founder and director, Heart of Joy Learning (present)
  • Educational consultant, BMD Educational Consulting Services (2021–present)
  • Spanish teacher and curriculum coordinator at a progressive private school in Washington, D.C.
  • MCEA building representative, Montgomery County Education Association / Gaithersburg High School (volunteer)
  • JV softball coach, Gaithersburg High School and Thomas S. Wootton High School (volunteer)
  • Tutor, Family Life Services, Gaithersburg (2017–2018)
  • Trained by Harvard Business School's Case Method Project to deepen students' understanding of American democracy

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Diaz's responses in The Banner's voter guide and her campaign platform.

Budget and board oversight: Diaz said the current board reduced annual business meetings from 24 to 12 and moves millions through consent agendas without contract review. She said every dollar must be tracked, justified and tied to student outcomes. She called for eliminating redundancies and redirecting savings to classrooms, teachers and buildings, saying the $3.78 billion budget should reach students, not bureaucracy.

Curriculum and instruction: Diaz called for whole books and textbooks in every classroom, grade-appropriate assignments and explicit instruction in reading and math. She said classrooms should focus on science, literature, history and math. She also called for less technology and more after-school tutoring for students who are behind.

Teacher support: Diaz said she wants fully equipped schools with functioning copiers, printers and materials. She called for targeted professional development in content knowledge, classroom visits and one-on-one meetings so teachers feel heard.

School safety: Diaz said she wants to restore school resource officers, which she said are endorsed by MCPS principals. She called for consistent enforcement of the newly revised Student Code of Conduct and passage of a Teachers' Bill of Rights to restore order and discipline.

Community engagement: Diaz said neighborhood schools are community anchors and called for genuine, multilingual engagement with families. She said every petition should be respected, acknowledged and included, and that parents deserve a real seat at the table.

Candidate responses were drawn from Diaz's campaign website and her published responses in The Banner's 2026 voter guide.