Candidate for
Board Member; Sequoia Union High School District

A Life Time Commitment to California Schools

Chris Thomsen and his family are 18-year residents of Menlo Park. Chris enjoys a short daily bike ride to work at Stanford University, where he serves as executive director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences. His wife Carol is a site director for the HeadStart program in East Palo Alto. Their two boys, now in college, attended district high schools, one at Summit Prep and the other at Menlo-Atherton High School. Inspired by a family of three generations of California teachers and educational administrators, Chris is committed to providing excellence in education for all students of our community.

Service to Education

For more twenty-five years, Chris's professional life has focused on service to education. An important element of that experience includes institutional planning in the president's office at Stanford University and managing a commission on technology, teaching and learning beginning in the mid 1990s. So too, a sabbatical term as a visiting professor at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands provided the opportunity to study pedagogical innovation. Now, as Executive Director of Stanford's Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS) he is involved in a broad range of research initiatives, many of which have direct relevance to our schools. For example, one program he oversees engages 1,000 Foothill College students in Stanford research projects. Two IRiSS research centers--one studying Poverty & Inequality and the other on Philanthropy and Civil Society-- have on-going research that informs the public debate and practice of public education. For information about the Stanford Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, go to: http://iriss.stanford.edu

For a brief three years, he left academia to work with an angel fund on launching life science companies. In that capacity he served as co-founder and president of Tao Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical startup, targeting new classes of anti-infective drugs.

Elected Office

Four years ago Chris was elected to the Sequoia Union High School District governing board. He currently serves as the board president. Working with his board colleagues, he has hired an exceptional leadership for the district, and established a strong track record of success. Throughout his tenure, the district has made steady progress on educational achievement, supported excellence of the teaching staff, brought increased board focus on the achievement gap, and provided effective financial stewardship through the economic downturn.

From 1986 to 1995, while living at Tahoe, Chris served on a local community service district board. As an elected official, he knows the importance of accountability, community support, and making tough budget choices - all critical to the success of our schools.

Chris attended California K-12 public schools, before heading to Stanford as an undergraduate. He looks forward to continuing his commitment to public education through service on the SUHSD governing board.