Candidate for Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees
Trustee Area 5 (Palo Alto/Stanford), November 2024
- Former Palo Alto Unified School Board President and 20-year advocate for students and education
- 25-year resident and community leader of Palo Alto
- CFO with 30+ years of business and financial management experience
- First generation college student educated in California’s public schools, kindergarten through MBA
Public Service: I served on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Trustees 2014-2018 (VP in 2016, President in 2017). At that time, PAUSD had 12,000+ students, 2000+ staff members, 18 school sites and a budget of more than $250M. My focus was on equity and the social/emotional/mental health of students. During my PAUSD service, we addressed issues and opportunities related to academics, personnel, leadership, campus life, finances, and community relations. In my term I managed us through a tough superintendent transition and some serious issues of student health and safety that attracted national media coverage. Through it all, my goal was to be drama-free, collaborative, transparent and focused on what was best for our students and staff. |
Professional Commitment: For the last four years, I have devoted my professional life to an organization that aligns with my personal passion for education. I am the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for Learning Policy Institute, a research organization dedicated to providing high-quality research to improve education policy and practice for all students. I will bring to the role of Trustee a can-do attitude, a straightforward yet collaborative style, and decision-making skills honed during 35 years of corporate and non-profit work experience at Intel, Xerox, Stanford, and Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Community Leadership: I currently serve as a Trustee of the UC Irvine Foundation Board with a focus on first generation and under-resourced students. Prior to my UC Irvine and PAUSD Board work, I was an advocate for students’ social/emotional/mental health as a founding member of Project Safety Net. I also supported the district’s students and families as president of the foundation (Partners in Education) raising $5M+ annually for the district and president of the PAUSD district-wide PTA. |
On a personal note, I attended public schools in southern California earning a BS (Math) from UC Irvine and an MBA (Finance) from UCLA. I live in Palo Alto (since 1999) with my husband, Steve. My children, who both went through Palo Alto public schools, live in Washington and Virginia. |
I would love to hear about your experiences with and ideas about our community colleges. Please reach out to me at 650.387.3210 or [email protected]. My best, |