Candidate for
Board Member; Ross Valley School District

I have three children in our district - all at White Hill Middle School: an eighth grade daughter, Addicen and twin sixth grade sons, Bayley and Cayden. My family has been a part of this district for a long time. Even before my Addicen walked in to her kindergarten classroom, I became a member of the School Site Council tasked with developing the School Site Plan for school achievement. It was the beginning of an increasing level of involvement in the school and the district. I spent the first year volunteering in classrooms, on Site Council, helping with teacher appreciation lunches, reading with children and learning about our school and our district. I attended parent club meetings and learned from then Board members about school funding and the ramifications of budget cuts. I was appointed to the board in 2010. My involvement in our district has continued to grow.. I have been co-president of the WTPA, Site Council Member, Yes! Campus Advocate, Hospitality Chair, International Day Chair, World Culture Day Chair, RoundTable member, Free The Children Club Founder, and Room Parent twelve times over.

I am a proud product of public schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My public school experience taught me to appreciate diversity, cultural richness, and differentiated learning. My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Pacheco will always be a role model for me as I work in the education arena. I grew up in a family that not only supported me as a student, but also shaped my values by providing excellent role models and emphasizing the idea of giving back to community.

My interest in education did not begin with my own children. At Princeton University, I enrolled in the unique and inspiring Teacher Preparation Program, which included student teaching in a fourth grade class and culminated in a New Jersey K-5 Certificate of Eligibility. I also spent three years as a teacher's aide at a school for the deaf, providing differentiated learning environments for children with varying levels of hearing impairment. I was a big sister in the Big Brother/Big Sister program. And, I taught elderly individuals about health care proxies and living wills. When I moved to the Bay Area, I sought out the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program and became a trained CASA volunteer representing the best interests of abused and neglected children in court and in their lives.

My work in the legal profession complements my interest in education and board membership. I have worked as an attorney for the last 18 years, first as a litigation associate in San Francisco and now at a publishing company in Sunnyvale that publishes tools used to promote team-building and leadership. I took this job because it combines my desire to enhance the human experience and to learn. My unique work environment provides me the opportunity for negotiation, political balancing, budgeting, and consensus building. I am constantly working to create solutions to complex problems in intellectual property application and protection, international and domestic contract negotiations, and author relationships. I have also served as a member of the Strategic Planning leadership team that works to plan for a growing company while managing risks and threats associated therein.

I believe that the combination of my volunteer work, educational background, parenthood, values and work experience uniquely qualify me for the role of School Board Trustee. I will continue to work tirelessly for our children and for our community, knowing all the while that our community will continue to grow.

I would be honored to have your support.