MONROE — Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed a Monroe School Board member to a new group aimed at improving education in science, technology, engineering and math across the state.

Nancy Truitt Pierce is serving on the STEM Education Innovation Alliance of business leaders and educators developing ways to prepare students for STEM careers.

“It’s really important work for our state,” Truitt Pierce said.

The alliance was approved by the Legislature last year. Inslee announced group members in August.

Truitt Pierce is the state’s only school board member to be appointed to the alliance. It includes high-ranking officials, such as Washington’s superintendent of public instruction, Randy Dorn, and state Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender. There are 20 other education and business professionals involved.

Truitt Pierce owns Woods Creek Consulting Company, a Monroe business that works with executives in the metro Seattle area, including many in technology.

She serves on the educational legislative committee for the Washington State School Directors Association. She’s also part of the Federal Relations Network of school board members from various states who work on national education issues.

The state received a $170,000 grant to launch the alliance from the National Governors Association for Best Practices. Washington was one of 14 states to receive money to help prepare its workforce.

A 2013 report by Washington Roundtable of business and industry leaders showed that 25,000 jobs in the state are unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. Of those jobs, 80 percent were in STEM. That gap is expected to grow.

“Students aren’t choosing those fields,” Truitt Pierce said.

The skills gap, she said, isn’t just due to a lack of ability. The education system is missing the opportunity to inspire students to STEM careers, Truitt Pierce said.

She plans to focus on encouraging connections between students and people working in those fields so young people see a path to potential jobs, she said.

Truitt Pierce also hopes to help them develop the advanced problem-solving skills needed for innovation.

“We need to provide competence and confidence,” she said.

Truitt Pierce plans to share programs that are succeeding with the alliance, including a math intervention program at Monroe High School that has improved student test scores.

“We’ve got some good things going in Snohomish County,” she said. “I want to make sure folks know about them so we can replicate them across the state.”

The alliance is expected to begin making annual recommendations to the Legislature in January.

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.