Candidate for
Board Member; Redwood City Elementary School District

For my detailed biography, please visit: <http://www.faginforschoolboard.org/MyBackground.html>

My Background
I am a native of New York City. My parents were first generation Americans of Eastern European descent. My mother was a public school teacher for 25 years and taught me that education is the key to success in our society.

I have been a resident of California since 1980, and a homeowner in Redwood City since 1989.

My Family
My husband is a software developer (self-employed); we have been married for over 15 years. My three children have always attended Redwood City School District schools. My daughter is a 6th grader in McKinley Institute of Technology, and my twin sons are 3rd graders in John Gill School. We will be in this school district through 2009.

My Education
I attended public schools through high school in New York City. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). I earned my PhD in Physiology from Emory University (Atlanta, GA). My research specialties were hormones and reproduction.

My Profession
I am a Medical Scientist. My first academic professional position was Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Research Associate in the Department of Physiology, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, where I conducted medical research on how stress affects the body. I was a research scientist at the biotechnology company Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA) for five years, developing new medicines for diseases such as diabetes and growth disorders. I was a research scientist at Alza Corporation (Palo Alto, CA) for five years, identifying approaches for delivery of medicines without injection. I currently do pro bono consulting and teaching in our community.

My Volunteer Work
I have been a school advocate for 6 years, since my daughter started kindergarten. I am on the School Site Council and PTA Board. As Chairperson of the School Site Council, I have created and directed many subcommittees that include our community members, addressing issues of concern to our students, families, and teachers, such as school traffic safety, school calendars, and bond construction progress.

I have taught classes for our elementary school students for the past 6 years in the subjects of math, reading, writing, art, and science. I encourage the children to "be scientists" by making sure that they understand how important it is to ask questions, to gather information with their own observations and skills, and to interpret what they learn.

I help our teachers and our school staff on a daily basis, grading homework, assisting in traffic control, and getting the resources our teachers and office workers need to do their jobs. I know how hard our teachers and our school staff members work!

As the Liaison for my children's school to our Redwood City School Board, I attend all board meetings and I regularly address the Board members regarding issues of importance to our school communities. I also report back to our school community about School Board topics so that parents have the opportunity to understand and be involved in school district issues.

In our community, I am a member of the CARON Steering Subcommittee and Parent/Youth Subcommittee (CARON: Community Alliance to Revitalize Our Neighborhood). I am a member of the YMCA Program Committee, which develops quality youth programming for our community. I have served as a member of the Measure B School Bond Task Force and the School Traffic Safety Task Force through the City Council. I attend neighborhood association meetings throughout Redwood City in order to better understand the priorities of our community members.