Candidate for
Board Member; Albany Unified School District

Profile

My son, Sam, graduated from AHS in 2008 after 13 years in the Albany school system. Sam got an excellent education and was at no disadvantage relative to his friends who went to private schools when it came time to apply to college. On the Board, my goal is to ensure that AUSD is able to continue to offer this level of education to students well into the future. Having worked with all sorts of people in many capacities over the course of several careers, I feel I have some life skills that enable me to contribute to the difficult decisions that the AUSD school board has to make.

Since I've been on the Board, we've managed to hold on to many important programs--such as music in all grades and electives in the Middle and High schools--that other districts lost in the recession. Today we are faced with a structural deficit, a new national curriculum, and a persistent achievement gap between different socioeconomic groups of students. There is much more to be done to maintain and rebuild the staff and programs we've lost. It's my belief that just returning to what we had a few years ago is not enough--we need to continually strive for improvement.

Experience (in chronological order)

Naval Officer

A relatively short but intense experience that gave me the opportunity to work with people from socioeconomic backgrounds radically different from my own. I gained insight into issues such as leadership, personnel management, the functioning of hierarchies, and teamwork that still inform my approach to these matters today.

Graduate Teaching Assistant and Research Fellow, University of Wyoming and Purdue University

Teaching and doing research as a graduate student taught me about collaboration and creativity. I had my first teaching experience, worked on collaborative research projects, and learned to apply in a civilian setting some of the personnel management skills I had learned in the Navy.

College Professor, Albion College, Albion, MI

I taught classes and labs in geology and geophysics and taught summer field camp in the Colorado Rockies. I worked on curriculum, prepared my own lesson plans, wrote and graded exams, and directed independent research projects. I counseled students, acted as an advisor for student clubs, and worked with other faculty to improve course offerings and student research opportunities.

Consulting Geophysicist, Berkeley, CA

I worked with a team of geologists, geophysicists, cartographers, and computer programmers to develop oil prospects for client oil companies. The work was largely collaborative and required practical application of all the math, science, and English I'd learned in school.

Technical Writer, San Francisco Bay Area

I worked as a contractor and employee for several companies, most notably Apple, Inc. I wrote everything from mission statements and white papers to user manuals and operating system reference manuals. At various times I was an individual contributor, supervisor, and manager. I've written personnel evaluations, interviewed and hired people, and (sadly) fired a few. I've worked on any number of standards committees and design teams. Consequently, I'm used to not always getting my own way, even when I'm sure my opinion is right. I accept the group's decision and move on to the next decision or task.

BOE and Volunteer Work, Albany Unified School District

Member, Board of Education, 6 years (including 2 years as president); AHS Instructional Improvement Council (IIC), 2 years; AHS Site Council, 1 year; District Curriculum Committee, 2 years; Writer Coach, 4 years; volunteer at AHS registration, test proctor, etc. On the Board I've helped focus the district on increasing and improving the use of data to inform instructional practice, increasing opportunities for professional development of teachers and administrators, and learning how to close the achievement gap.

Education

• Harpur College, Binghamton University, SUNY--B.A., Geology
• University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY--M.S., Geology
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN--Ph.D., Geophysics

My primary interest related to the work of the Board is in policy, but being an effective Board member requires developing some competence in budget and some knowledge of instructional practice, school administration, and curriculum as well. My basic management philosophy is to hire the best people you can, provide them with the resources they need, and then get out of their way and let them do their job. I think we've got great administrators, teachers, and staff in Albany, and the goal of the school board should be to provide vision, general direction, and resources.