Brian Emanuels has formally launched his campaign for the Mercer Island School District Board of Directors.

Last month Emanuels was chosen to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Lisa Strauch Eggers.

The term ends this fall; Emanuels has filed with King County Elections for the four-year term beginning this November.

A press release said Emanuels has already received the endorsement of more than 100 city leaders and citizens.

“Brian is passionate, smart and dogged in pursuit of opportunities for individual kids — but also for the quality of life for the overall Mercer Island community,” said Blair Rasmussen, former executive director of the Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club.

Emanuels is the founder and president of the Mercer Island Little League, and was also a president of the Mercer Island Football Booster Club. He has also served on the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors since 2005 and was honored as volunteer of the year in 2007. He was an early and ardent supporter of the successful PEAK project, where he served on the steering and building committees. He also coached for four years in the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club junior football program.

Emanuels has also been active within Mercer Island schools, having served on the District Advisory Committee since its inception, the Mercer Island Schools Foundation Board of Directors from 2005-2010, the Title IX Advisory Committee, and most recently on the 21st Century Facilities Advisory Committee.

The candidate’s professional career included five years in sales at IBM and 10 years at Microsoft, where he served as a manager on several products. After retiring from Microsoft, Emanuels spent a year as a part-time tutor in the Seattle Public Schools, and then taught high school full-time for a year in the Cleveland InfoTech Academy.

Emanuels graduated from Bellevue High School and the University of Washington.

He and his wife, Anne,  moved to the Island in 1999. They have four sons currently attending Mercer Island schools.

“I am excited to serve on the School Board after my work on the MI Schools Foundation and particularly the 21st Century Facilities Advisory Committee. We are at a critical crossroads for making decisions on facilities, curriculum, technology and funding that will affect our schools and community for decades to come,” Emanuels said.

For more, go to  Brian4MISchools.com.