Government Committee Presents Discussion with Nadia Combs, Hillsborough County School Board Member

Nadia Combs was elected to the Hillsborough County School Board, representing District 1, in 2020. She is one of seven members responsible for making policy decisions and overseeing a total budget of $3.3 billion for the 7th largest school district in the nation, which is also the county’s largest employer.

Ms. Combs earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies Education and Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership, both from the University of South Florida. She started her teaching career by working for the Japanese Ministry of Education for three years on a remote island in Japan. In Hillsborough County Schools, she worked as a teacher, team leader, department head, district teacher trainer and taught at-risk students in the Dropout Prevention Program. She was awarded Teacher of the Year at Franklin Middle School and Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year for Hillsborough County.

Ms. Combs is an entrepreneur who founded a company to serve the national Supplemental Education Services program. Her company provided free tutoring services to thousands of students in Title I Schools in Hillsborough County and throughout Florida. She currently owns and operates Brighton Learning tutoring center, which she founded in 2014, continuing to provide educational support to students in public, private, magnet, and charter schools throughout Hillsborough County. She has actively served as a judge for Hillsborough County School events including the History Fair and the World of Wisdom Tournament. She has also served as a member of the Children’s Cancer Center Knead for Knowledge Scholarship Committee from 2012 through 2020.

Ms. Combs has been married for 20 years and has two high school children attending Hillsborough County Public Schools. She has a passion to make a positive impact in the lives and futures of students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.