Candidate for
Board Member; Saddleback Valley Unified School District

Suzie Swartz, past SVUSD Board President and current trustee, is a strong advocate for our local schools. Throughout the financial crisis, Suzie has worked tirelessly to provide the classroom support needed to raise student achievement and to provide safe, nurturing, state-of-the-art learning environments. She always votes to direct resources where they have the greatest benefit for kids.

A strong advocate for our schools on the local state and federal levels, Suzie continues to aggressively pursue funding and legislation to provide more flexibility and local control. She wants to attract and retain the finest teachers. She understands the importance of the basics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Arts Education so she continuously works to secure resources to keep these programs alive.

Suzie represents SVUSD on the California School Boards Delegate Assembly, serves on the Orange County Education Coalition and is serving a third term as President of the Orange County School Boards Association.

In 2009,School Board Members countywide recognized Suzie's leadership with the prestigious Marian Bergeson Award. She has also been honored with the Phi Delta Kappa Citizen of the Year Award for her years of community service to our public schools prior to being elected to the school board.

Suzie served several terms as PTA President for Del Cerro Elementary and on the Executive PTA Boards for Del Cerro and Saddleback Valley PTA Council. She has also served on various music and athletic Parent Booster Boards at secondary schools as well as on education committees at the district, county and state levels.

As a school board member and a public relations consultant, Suzie Swartz knows how to build consensus among various partners to create positive results. She is known for her integrity and has a reputation for being accessible and a considerate listener who weighs issues thoroughly, looks at the big picture and offers reasoned thoughtful responses. Suzie understands the importance of fostering an environment that values high expectations, encourages parental involvement, promotes accessibility of teachers, administrators and school board members, and emphasizes mutual respect.

A UCLA Graduate with a Masters in Governance Certificate from the California School Boards Association, Suzie works with her husband in public relations. Her sons are SVUSD graduates; one graduated Boston University, and the other graduated San Diego State University and is a second year law student.