Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Petaluma Joint Union High School District

Debbie is wife of Don, mother of Megan and Donny. She has spent her adult life teaching, raising her children, volunteering and supporting many areas of our community including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, sports, and of course, in the many phases of the educational arena, to name a few. Debbie's strong desire to seize each day was magnified seven years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer. After being told that she would not last the year, she was fortunate enough to be selected to take part in an experimental program consisting of a bone marrow/blood stem cell transplant. To quote her, "I will survive!" Husband Don and Debbie will be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary in the spring.

In addition to her classroom teaching, Debbie has served on textbook review committees, created a highly successful school wide "Olympic" day where each student from kindergarten to sixth grade participated and took home a special certificate acknowledging and rewarding their successes. She has also created a school wide recycling program/fund raiser that exceeded expectations. Debbie taught her students in many ways. As a whole, her students left her classes happy, educated and with a desire to learn more.

Debbie's volunteering began while in high school. After school she would regularly visit the elementary school she attended and help the students there with their reading. At present Debbie regularly volunteers her time in innumerable ways in the educational arena. She has spent time in libraries, cafeterias, offices, nurses office, playgrounds, driving on field trips, being a room mom, coordinating campaigns, helping in the classes, working on numerous committees, goes on over night field trips and of course serving on numerous fund raisers for the schools and individual classrooms. It is her pleasure to volunteer knowing that she is helping our students and reach their goals.

Don is a 20 year veteran of the San Francisco Police Department. He enjoys coaching soccer and basketball for both of their children. He has always enjoyed bringing an SFPD squad car up to Petaluma and letting, over the years, hundreds of kids honk horns and blow sirens as they crawl around the car and learn that the police are their friends and are there to help them.

Megan, their oldest, is 13 and attends Kenilworth Junior High. Being a student representative on the school Site Council as well as parliamentarian for the Parent, Teacher, Student Association (PTSA), Cadet Girl Scouts and her homework keeps her quite busy.

Their son Donny is currently a 6th grader at Bernard Eldredge Elementary School. He enjoys school and sports with a special fondness for basketball. Donny has just been elected to the position of "Spirit" at Bernard Eldredge. This guy keeps us laughing!