Longtime Administrator and New Commissioner of Education Dr. Brian Maher Comes Home with a Purpose

By Tyler Dahlgren, NCSA Communication Specialist

The timing was just right. After carving out an impressive career in education, both in Nebraska and beyond, Dr. Brian Maher and his wife, Peggy, knew it was time to come home.

This was back in January. At the time, Maher was the CEO and Executive Director of the South Dakota Board of Regents, positions he’d held since the summer of 2020. Once the Mahers had made up their minds about returning to Nebraska, Brian began mulling his career options.

One thing was for certain. He was ready for another adventure, another turn on a career path that began in a classroom and then progressed through different levels of administrative positions and into superintendencies in Centennial, Kearney, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“I was at the point where I knew I still wanted to work,” Maher said. “I still wanted to be relevant in a work environment, but I didn’t know where.”

And then the phone started ringing. Those same colleagues were suggesting that he put his hat in the ring for the commissioner opening. Maher started making phone calls of his own, acquiring as much information about the job as possible by picking the brains of people he knew and trusted. By February, Maher’s mind was made up. Serving as Nebraska’s Commissioner of Education, he was confident, would provide professional fulfillment.

“Ultimately, it was the thought that I could make an impact in this position on education in Nebraska, and making an impact in education has been my driver throughout my career,” Maher said. “This is just the next stopping point for that.”

Before embarking on his newest adventure, Maher joined us for a conversation that began with a look back. Maher started as a teacher in tiny Clarks, NE, a dot on the map along Highway 30 in Merrick County. He’s served as an assistant principal, a principal, and a superintendent. In each of those roles, he could see the direct impact he and his staff were making in the lives of students.

“I never want to lose sight of what it was like to be a teacher; because that’s where the magic truly happens, in the classroom,” Maher said. “Each position is important, but none are more important than the position of a teacher. So what can I do to lean on those experiences in this position?”

Finding the answer to that self-imposed question is the next step in Maher’s journey, and it’s one he’s excited to take. Combined, all of his experiences in education have positioned him well to step into the commissioner role. The first items on his docket are no different than they were in Clarks 30 years ago.

Maher was unaware that the Commissioner of Education position was about to open. It wasn’t even on his radar, but he knew he and his wife had excellent support networks in Nebraska, both from friends and colleagues.

“Developing relationships on multiple fronts, that’s the first thing,” he said. “It starts with my relationship with the board that hired me and making sure that is solid. The more the board trusts me, the more I can engender their trust, the better off I’ll be, and the more work we’ll be able to get done here.”

The same goes for the staff at NDE that he’ll be working “shoulder-to-shoulder” with every day.

“And then that just ripples out to the schools in the state, to the governor and the legislature, and, ultimately, our educational partners like NCSA and the multiple other partners that, together, make things work in this state,” Maher said. “Those are crucial first steps for me, and those steps never end. Those relationships never end. You just continue to develop them manually. There are a lot of technical things that go along with it, but if the relationships and the trust aren’t in place, then those technical pieces take a back seat. And it’s a way, way back seat.”

Maher knows the landscape of education in Nebraska as well as anyone. He grew up in Hooper, the youngest of seven children. The education he received at Logan View Public Schools set the foundation for the rest of his life.

“I have firsthand benefited from a quality education,” said Maher, who was a free and reduced lunch student from a split home. “I know the power of teachers rallying around me.

I understand the power of education beyond high school, and the benefit that being an educated person in our society brings. I want to make sure that that opportunity is there for all of our Nebraska students. And when I say all, I mean all. No matter the school they attend, no matter the zip code they live in, I would like to do what I can to impact education for everybody in our state.”

As for what makes Nebraska a special place worth coming back to? For Maher, the answer is simple.

“It’s the people,” he said. “There’s no place like Nebraska, and that’s certainly true for Peggy and I. Growing up here, you see the common themes of hard work and solution-seeking folks. We’re excited to be back and to be a part of that again.”