Brenda M. Diaz, a Montgomery County Public Schools 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 running for the seat.

Diaz ran for the District 2 board seat in 2024, earning 42.7% of the vote with 172,546 votes as what she described as a first-time, union-free candidate who lost to Natalie Zimmerman, according to her response in The Banner's voter guide.

Candidate information

  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: Bachelor of science in international relations with a major in international politics and a minor in Latin American studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, according to her voter guide response; master's in social studies teacher education, George Washington University, 2015, according to BallotReady
  • Honors: James Madison Memorial Fellow, a nationally competitive honor awarded by an act of Congress to teachers of American history and government, according to her voter guide response; Buchwald Fellow; selected two years in a row for National Endowment for the Humanities Landmark seminars, according to her campaign website
  • Professional training: Trained by Harvard Business School's Case Method Project to deepen students' understanding of American democracy, according to her campaign website

Experience and public service

Diaz said she is a high school social studies teacher at Montgomery County Public Schools, a position BallotReady lists her as holding since 2015. She also said she is a middle and high school social studies teacher at Fusion Global Academy and founder and director of Heart of Joy Learning.

She said she previously worked as a Spanish teacher and curriculum coordinator at a progressive private school in Washington, D.C. She said she was a tutor at Family Life Services in Gaithersburg from 2017 to 2018 and has served as an educational consultant at BMD Educational Consulting Services since 2021, according to BallotReady.

Diaz said she has volunteered as a JV softball coach at Gaithersburg High School and Thomas S. Wootton High School. She also served as an MCEA building representative at Gaithersburg High School through the Montgomery County Education Association.

On the issues

Budget accountability: 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, and that the district's $3.78 billion budget should reach students, not bureaucracy.

Classroom resources and instruction: Diaz called for whole books and textbooks in every classroom, grade-appropriate assignments and explicit instruction in reading and math. She said she wants less technology and after-school tutoring for students who are behind.

She said schools need functioning copiers, printers and materials, and that curriculum should drive excellence rather than rely on digital platforms.

Teacher support: Diaz said she wants 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, enforce the newly revised Student Code of Conduct consistently and pass a Teachers' Bill of Rights. She said school resource officers are endorsed by MCPS principals and proven to build relationships and keep schools safe.

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

Candidate responses were drawn from Diaz's campaign website and her published voter guide answers in The Banner. Policy positions reflect the candidate's own statements.