Jena Nelson teaches eighth-grade composition and academic enhancement at Deer Creek Middle School in Edmond, Oklahoma, and is the 2020 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana (NSULA). A 15-year educator and a longtime advocate for career-based curriculum, Nelson has helped her students earn over $4 million in scholarships and incorporates career readiness in her classes. She was selected twice to direct at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and was chosen to present at the International Music Festival in Campina Grande Brazil. This year she was selected by Congresswoman Kendra Horn to attend the State of the Union Address in Washington, DC. She serves as a member of the Oklahoma governor’s workforce council, Teacher Table initiative, Oklahoma ELA standards committee, superintendent’s teacher advisory committee, educator quality and diversity advisory committee, NSULA teacher education advisory committee, Deer Creek inclusivity committee, and ICAP (individual career and academic planning) teacher representative. She has presented at the University of Central Oklahoma’s “Honoring a Noble Profession” event, the Juneteenth webcast celebration, EngageOK in the Cloud, Impact Tulsa, University of Oklahoma’s Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education intern program, K20 Center’s career expo, OAEA, Oklahoma University music student teaching seminar, OEA summer conference, NSU/College of Education internship seminar, and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. Nelson is a proud recipient of the Chickasaw Nation/Oklahoman Newspapers in Education Award and the OKC Thunder Teacher of the Game. Nelson is thrilled to start her education revolution of morale and to advocate for the profession she loves.