Minneapolis School Board Member Pam Costain will step down in late June to take over as president and CEO of AchieveMpls, an educational foundation that supports the work of the school district.

AchieveMpls announced Tuesday that Costain, who is in her first term on the board, has been chosen to fill the spot left by former CEO Catherine Jordan, who left in October to work for the Bush Foundation.

Costain has "a passion for education, a know-how to raise money; she's managed organizations like this before and she's driven to really make a difference for Minneapolis public schools' students," said Paul Donovan, the incoming chairman of the AchieveMpls board.

Costain, whose school board term ends in January, had already decided not to run for reelection this fall when the AchieveMpls job opened up. She said she's been a nonprofit manager and leader for 22 years, and was a founding member of Wellstone Action as well as the nonprofit now known as Parents United for Public Schools.

"It's an opportunity to really engage the community in the Minneapolis public schools," said Costain, who said she'll "enhance" the organization's mission to work more closely with the school district's academic goals. "I see it as a really tremendous opportunity to continue the work that I've been doing on the board."

School Board Chairman Tom Madden couldn't be reached for comment, but Costain said the board will appoint a replacement to her seat until it is filled in November's election.

EMILY JOHNS