Candidate for
Member, Community College Board; County of San Francisco; 2 Year Short Term

I am a living example of the opportunities that higher education can offer. Going from high school drop-out to PhD in less than 20 years, I know firsthand how important higher education is to achieving success. I strongly believe that the community college system should serve the entire community. This includes high school students looking for college credits, high school graduates looking for a two-year degree to Campaign Pictransfer, nontraditional students looking to gain or improve vocational or other skills in either credit or noncredit courses, ESL students wanting to learn or improve their English language skills, and community members wanting to learn the necessary information to gain citizenship or take an enrichment class such as art, dance, or language. Accessibility, availability, and affordability are especially important for the most vulnerable in our population, including former foster youth and those who are trying to turn their lives around after serving in the juvenile or criminal justice systems and those hardest hit by the recession.

I am in a unique position to govern San Francisco City College because of my work in developing and analyzing policy, implementing evidence-based practices, and making hard decisions, as well as my work as an adjunct professor for many years and my passion for education. In addition to my faculty perspective, I bring a student perspective. I have experience working with the accrediting agency as a graduate student when my school went through a similar process and I was a student government representative for 7 campuses while coordinating with the Board and university president.

In my work as a policy researcher, I have learned that by ensuring that students have available, accessible, and affordable education, we create not only an opportunity for students to succeed in life, but also for the city to decrease crime and homelessness and to increase political and civic engagement as well as overall health. As an adjunct professor, I have had the opportunity to work with students who did not have the remedial education necessary to do well in classes but who had much potential for contributing to their chosen fields. Many of my students were nontraditional students who balanced work, family, and school, so I understand how flexible the City College structure must be for its students to succeed. I also understand how important the City College experience is for students whose first language is not English or who are first-generation college students. In addition, I have worked on curriculum development and understand the delicate balance between academic freedom and good governance and oversight.

As a new mom, I'm especially committed to keeping high-quality education accessible, available, and affordable for the next generation as well as for the current one.

With City College at a critical stage, my goal is to focus on the overall stability of the institution as a whole and ensure accessible, available, and affordable education for our community while also ensuring adherence to the accrediting agency's standards. The primary objective is to keep City College open, accredited, and top quality.

Once the elected board is reinstated and provided training on Board duties and responsibilities and purview, I believe the elected Board can have a strong and positive influence in overseeing budgetary matters and overarching institutional policy. My goal is to focus on the overall stability of the institution as a whole and ensure available, accessible, and affordable education for our community while also ensuring adherence to the accrediting agency's standards. The primary objective is to keep City College open, accredited, and top quality. My vision is for the elected Board to move forward with strengthening the institution as a whole, making sure that the community's needs are being met with high-quality education and training and that the college is on track for financial stability. The Board must also rebuild mutual trust with all of its stakeholders, including faculty and staff, students, the community, the state chancellor's office, and even the accrediting agency. Once stabilized, I will then work to harness the success of City College graduates in the community to create an alumni network to mentor current students, to provide expansive practical internship opportunities, and to help fund the future generation's educational aspirations. I will work to ensure that all stakeholders are held accountable to a professional standard. My goal is to be part of the solution to the past problems and to make City College a model for other community colleges.

City College is ripe for new perspectives, and I believe that if strong, independent, pragmatic, unifying leaders fill the seats this year we'll have a greater chance at having the Board reinstated sooner rather than later. I am one of those leaders. I bring a fresh, pragmatic approach to decision making, coming in during an already economically struggling time with new, creative ideas for increasing revenue and making hard decisions.

In addition to my policy and faculty experience, I have been a leader in the community. I am a graduate of Emerge California and am an elected delegate for the 19th Assembly District of the CA Democratic Party. I have served on the San Francisco Women's Political Committee as a policy advocate for issues dealing with girls and women. Currently, I am working on legislation that will close the loophole in the Paid Family Leave Act that will allow public employees to be eligible. I was also on the board of the National Council of Jewish Women, which focuses on lobbying at the local and state level to combat human trafficking, prevent family violence, promote girls' education, and advocate for restorative justice. I have also served on the United Way's Women's Leadership Council, whose goal is to reduce poverty in the Bay Area by half by 2020, and am on the board of the Richmond District Neighborhood Center.