New CMS rep grew up with ‘invisible burdens.’ She wants to help students beat them
In her early years, Anna London couch-surfed between family members’ homes and motels. She attended four or five different schools across Concord and north Charlotte before the sixth grade.
“Growing up, I experienced a lot of the things that our students experience,” she told The Charlotte Observer one Friday afternoon in early December. “I know what it’s like to walk into a classroom with invisible burdens and be expected to behave, achieve and perform.”
London’s mother struggled with severe mental health issues and addiction. But London’s teachers, she said, provided stability and support even when the floorboards of her life were creaking.
“My teachers, educators, guidance counselors were ultimately like my saving grace,” London said. “Going to school every day, they were the ones that pushed me and challenged me, but also supported me, and I really felt seen by my teachers.”
Eventually, London moved in with her father and stepmother ahead of middle school, which she said provided much-needed stability.
London, 39, is the new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools District 6 representative, covering parts of south Charlotte and southern Mecklenburg County. She’s one of four new members on the nine-member CMS board after two incumbents were swept out of office Nov. 4 and two opted not to seek reelection. London won her bid for the open District 6 seat after incumbent Summer Nunn announced she would not run again. Charlitta Hatch, Shamaiye Haynes and Cynthia Stone were also sworn in Dec. 9, representing Districts 1, 2 and 5, respectively.
In high school, London thought she wanted to become a teacher, but she studied psychology in college and went on to get a master’s degree in professional counseling. While she worked on her master’s, she taught pre-K. Later, she worked in crisis intervention and behavioral health at The Relatives, a nonprofit that supports youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and instability in Charlotte.
“I’m extremely passionate about social emotional learning, mental health and behavioral health resources for students, so that’s what led me into counseling,” she said.
Later, she transitioned to working with employers and job seekers through Charlotte Works, Mecklenburg County’s workforce development board. It offers career services, job training and youth programs. London currently serves as the organization’s president and CEO.
“I loved working directly with the youth and the young adults and their families, and sitting with them in their hardest moments, but also sitting with them during their brightest and best days, helping them to determine ‘what is my best next step to get closer to where I want to be in life?’” London said of her pivot to Charlotte Works.
Connecting students with opportunities after graduation is a core part of London’s mission on the board. She ran on a platform of creating a “bridge” between CMS and the workforce, between students and opportunity.
“Career exposure opportunities and work-based learning are extremely important to me, so I want to make sure that we are prepared,” she said. “That we are providing those opportunities to students as early as possible, but also to educators.”
War on public education?
This was London’s first time running for elected office. Though she’s had a passion for helping students since the beginning of her career, she said this year the time was finally right.
“I know that I have a lot to learn. I have never done this job before, but I am leaning all the way in,” London said.
London alluded to a “war on public education” being waged at the state and federal level. She and all three of the other newly elected board members mentioned that landscape as a major factor in why now was the time to run.
The North Carolina General Assembly has not yet adopted a budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which began in July. As a result, state employees like public school teachers have not received pay raises from the state since the passage of the last biannual budget in 2023. Teacher pay in North Carolina currently ranks 43rd in the nation, trailing all other states in the southeast aside from Mississippi, according to the National Education Association.
Meanwhile, the state lifted the income cap on its school voucher program, allocating $600 million for state-funded private school vouchers for this fall and $655 million dollars for next school year. While proponents say it offers families more flexibility in their children’s education, many public school advocates critique the move, saying it’s funneling public dollars away from public schools.
State data show about 87% of new voucher recipients after the income cap lifted for the 2024-25 school year were children who already attended private schools or who were enrolling in school for the first time as kindergarteners.
“I believe that public dollars should go to public schools,” London said. “In this crisis and the dismantling of public education, I felt like now is the time for me to step up.”
London was one of three candidates in the District 6 race, and one challenger, Toni Emehel, seized on what would become a controversial endorsement London received from Raki McGregor, a Charlotte business leader and former advisor to CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill. He also currently works with London as the board chairman of Charlotte Works. Emehel made it a centerpiece of her campaign against London.
At the time he endorsed London, McGregor’s tenure as a CMS advisor wasn’t yet up. SYDKIMYL Consulting, a firm owned by his wife, also had a six-figure contract with CMS.
On the campaign trail, Emehel repeatedly claimed the connection presented a potential conflict of interest. London, however, said it was cleared by “multiple levels of legal counsel” who determined there was not a conflict of interest for her to simultaneously serve as president and CEO of Charlotte Works and as a member of the school board.
London has grown exhausted by what she calls a “false narrative” and said it’s time to “close the book” and move forward.
“Running a campaign is really putting my name, my credibility, my heart on the line, and I am deeply committed to the students and the educators and the residents of this community…So, to have an opponent run a campaign focused on a false narrative rather than what they bring was really disappointing and really distracting,” she said. “That’s behind us. Let’s walk forward into a season of purpose, leading with integrity, transparency and accountability.”
The issues
London said a core priority for her as a board member is remaining laser-focused on improving student outcomes.
“I think that we’ve seen over the last couple of years, the current strategic plan is definitely working, but we need to stay focused on the focus,” she said. “That’s math and early literacy, but also problem-solving and navigating uncertainty and communication and conflict resolution – teaching all of those things as early on as possible, to make sure that we really are setting our students up for success and for true achievement.”
When students move into middle school and high school, London said, that’s when the district needs to start preparing students for success beyond CMS.
“We should be providing all opportunities to every single student so that they can truly achieve and be prepared for life after graduation, making sure that students are prepared for post-secondary, for college, making sure that students are prepared for not just jobs, but meaningful careers,” she said.
London said she’s also focused on improving communication between the district and community members. Schools in District 6 experienced lapses in communication first-hand last school year, including when three weeks passed between a principal’s suspension at Ardrey Kell High School and when parents were notified.
“Parents and families throughout the district, but definitely in District 6, have felt like communication has not been transparent, or it’s been choppy along the way,” she said. “So, my goal is to learn as much as I can, as quickly as possible, to make sure that, if there are still gaps in communication and opportunities for us to close those gaps, that we do so as quickly as possible.”
London has a fiercely protective, justice-driven spirit that, she says, has defined her for as long as she can remember. As her friends say, “You can’t stop Anna from being Anna.”
She says now, she feels she’s stepping into a calling.
“As a kid, my dad and my stepmom did not try to quiet my bold and courageous personality, but taught me how to tame it,” she said. “So, it feels like now, in this season, I can look and say to them that it’s paying off.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
