NMAA Commissioner of Officials Accepts Position with National Office
The New Mexico Activities Association would like to announce that NMAA Commissioner of Officials, Dana Pappas, has accepted a position as the Director of Officiating Services for the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis.
“I’m extremely excited about this opportunity,” said Pappas. “It’s a culmination of a career advocating for officials and I am carrying that passion for officials with me. Without working for the NMAA, NMOA, and officials in this state, I wouldn’t be able to go onto this next chapter in my life. All the credit goes to the individuals I’ve been able to serve in my career, they opened this door for me. It’s not often someone gets to leave a dream job for another dream job.”
Pappas, a Highland High School and University of New Mexico graduate, started working with the NMAA in 1997 and has held her position as Commissioner of Officials since 2004. In 2012, she assumed the role of NMAA deputy director. Pappas has worked directly with the New Mexico Officials Association (NMOA) for the entirety of her NMAA career, overseeing the training and education programs for more than 1,700 interscholastic sports officials in 10 sports. She was also responsible for the assigning of officials for all postseason contests and coordinated the NMOA state clinic each summer. Along with countless hours working officiating camps and clinics, Pappas was the event director for the State Choir and Concert Band, staff liaison for the English Expo, Student Council and Scholastic Publications. She also oversaw the NMAA Activities Council and, in 2016, founded the NMAA Student Leadership Advisory Council. As a result of her years of dedicated service, Pappas was honored in 2019 with an NFHS Citation, an award designed to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the NFHS, state high school associations, and the officiating avocation.
“Dana has been a valuable asset to the NMAA and will be greatly missed,” said NMAA Executive Director Sally Marquez. “We are excited for her opportunity to make an impact at the national level.”
As the Director of Officiating Services, Pappas’ new position at the NFHS is devoted to officials programming, services, and courses.
“Dana has a long and successful history of growing and sustaining officials programs in New Mexico, and we are excited about the potential to elevate the status of officials nationally and accelerate our efforts to recruit and retain more officials nationally for high school sports,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS executive director. “She has forged relationships with leaders in officiating at all levels, and she brings great energy to this new position devoted to officials programs.”
Pappas will begin her new job on August 1, 2021.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50-member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,500 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.9 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.
