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WS/FCS announces new leaders; superintendent search continues

Headshots for Kristina Mason and Chad Williams
Courtesy Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
Headshots for Kristina Mason and Chad Williams

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools announced two new district leaders this week.

Kristina Mason will serve as the interim chief of schools. In this position, she’ll oversee area superintendents who supervise principals.

Mason has more than 20 years of educational leadership experience and is the founder of a consulting firm for districts and schools.

Chad Williams will be the new executive director of safety, security and emergency management. He’s worked in this department since 2024. Prior to that, he spent nearly 30 years in various roles with the Greensboro Police.

Mason and Williams will both start later this month.

The announcement comes as the school board works to fill another leadership role, that of the superintendent.

Don Phipps is stepping down on Sept. 30. The board is currently reviewing 20 applicants for an interim to serve through the end of the school year.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.