Candidate for
School Board Director; City of Berkeley

I am currently President of the Berkeley School Board and have been a member of the Board since 2006. Before being elected to the School Board, I was an active parent in the Berkeley Unified School District for ten years, serving variously as President of the Washington Elementary School Site Committee, co-President of the Berkeley High Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) as well as a member of the Longfellow Middle School Governance Council, Berkeley Schools Excellence Program (tax measure) Planning and Oversight Committee, District Advisory Committee (DAC), District's Strategic Plan Committee, Berkeley High Principal's Advisory Committee, and the successful Yes on Measure A (school parcel tax renewal) Steering Committee.

I have been married for 24 years and am the mother of two sons, one a sophomore at Berkeley High in the International High School Program and the other a recent graduate from one of Berkeley High's small schools.

My other public involvement include being a past member of the City of Berkeley's Civic Arts Committee, Committee on the Status of Women, and the Solid Waste Management Commission. I am currently a member of the California School Board Association, the City Clerk's Association of California, the Municipal Management Assistants of Northern California, the NAACP, and the National Women's Political Caucus: North Alameda. I am also a mentor emeritus for the Intergovernmental Management Training Program ((IGMT), a leadership program for federal, state, regional, and local government officials and am a former elected representative to the California State Democratic Central Committee (AD 14).

I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up most of my life in Silver Spring, Maryland where I graduated from public school. I have a bachelor's degree from Brown University in Asian Studies/Political Science and a graduate degree in Political Science/Public Administration from U.C. Berkeley. I am currently the City Clerk for the City of Emeryville and am also the Assistant to the City Manager, working on special projects, such as developing the citywide budget, analyzing and implementing organizational efficiency initiatives, and establishing agreements or partnerships with other public agencies and private businesses. Previously, I was the Environmental Programs Manager for Emeryville, initiating innovative programs and services such as Emeryville's first citywide recycling program and the free Emery Go-Round shuttle as well as other alternative transportation programs and started my post-graduate career working for the City of Berkeley (legislative assistant and later a management analyst).