John Nave was appointed by Mayor Padilla November 16, 2022 to serve on the Washburn Board of Regents. Nave is the current Executive Vice President of the Kansas AFL-CIO, and is a lobbyist representing over 300 unions. He attended Washburn University from 1977-1980. As a former Topeka City Council member (2003-2007), he graduated from Leadership Greater Topeka, the National Leadership Development Training Program, and the National Institute of Corrections. A long-time board member of Living the Dream Inc., in 2008 he received their Community Action Award; and in March of 2019 he received the Fannie Lou Hamer Award for Outstanding Performance and Significant Effort on behalf ot he African American Democratic Caucus of Kansas. Nave has served as a board member of the American Red Cross, Golden City Sertoma, and the Volunteer Center of Topeka. He has served on the KDOT/Topeka Aesthetics Design Committee and as a member of the Working Kansas Alliance Executive Board. Governor Kelly selected Nave to serve on the Workers Compensation and Employment Security Boards Nominating Committee responsible for selecting appeal judges who preside over the state's Worker's Compensation and Unemployment Benefit cases. In June of 2020, the Governor appointed Nave to serve on the Commission on Racial Equity and Justice.
His term as a Regent is to expire June 30, 2024.
