In a special board meeting on Saturday, May 21, the Mercer Island School Board’s four remaining members unanimously elected Brian Emanuels to fill the board director seat vacated by Lisa Strauch Eggers last month.

“I’m very happy that the board chose me,” said Emanuels.

After being unable to reach a consensus between a pair of Islanders earlier in the month, the board reopened the application process, and Emanuels submitted his application.

Emanuels and his wife, Anne, have four sons, who all currently attend Mercer Island schools.

After retiring from a career in sales and product development at IBM and Microsoft, Emanuels tutored and had a short stint in teaching technology.

Since then, Emanuels has been actively involved as a volunteer in the Mercer Island School District as a member of the superintendent’s District Advisory Committee, the 21” Century Facilities Advisory Committee, the District’s Title IX Advisory Committee, and for five years was a board member of the Mercer Island Schools Foundation.

“It’s a super exciting time to be involved,” he said of working on the facilities committee. “My initial focus will be on implementing the recommendations of the 21st Century Facilities Advisory Committee, while also working with the board and administration to support great teaching and accelerating technology adoption to create a more personalized learning environment for all students.”

He said he plans to run in November for the seat.

Emanuels will take the oath of office on Thursday, May 26, at 4 p.m. in the Board Room at the District Administration Building.