Home municipality
Village of Brooklyn
Home ZIP code
53521
Preferred pronouns
He/Him/His
I am an advocate for public education and its ability to provide opportunities for all students. In education, we strive for continuous improvement in student learning. Our district, too, can always find ways to improve. I would like us to narrow persistent achievement gaps present, even when minor, in disadvantaged student groups, learners with special needs, and English language learners, for example. All students come from a range of backgrounds, abilities, and needs. High quality public education meets students where they are and helps them progress. In this, we can always do more.
Teachers, staff, district leaders, and the school board pay particular attention to safety in our schools. Our district has a dedicated school safety coordinator and was an early adopter of a hate speech policy. Yet, even with defined roles, robust policies, and well-established safety plans, we worry over even a small drop in school climate or perceptions of safety. Schools must be safe, welcoming places for all who walk through their doors. As a school board member, I will always work to ensure our people, policies, and procedures help create safe, respectful environments for all.
School boards must always have a high-level view of the district and be ready to adjust to changing needs. For instance, defying statewide trends Oregon continues to see modest enrollment growth, and our population is increasingly diverse. We must manage this growth while maintaining and improving facilities, meeting students’ needs, and also being responsible stewards of public funding. Yet, state support for education continues to lag, especially in areas like special education, and this places greater stress on local communities to fund needed innovation and growth.
I am trained as a sociologist and an educator myself, and I believe this background offers me uncommon insights. I have experienced challenges firsthand – enrollment declines, state funding cuts, budget deficits – that public education has sometimes faced. Personally and professionally, I also bring an equity-based mindset to my work. I believe all this lends me the focus to navigate such challenges, understand a diverse society, and help position students to succeed. Public education should be a great equalizer, providing opportunities to all students regardless of their backgrounds.
If re-elected, this would be my second term on the Oregon School District Board. This public service has been a highlight of my professional life, and I would look to build on my first term. Additionally, I am a proud product of strong public schools and, knowing their value, have also dedicated my 20-year career to teaching in public institutions of higher education. As an educator, I have held numerous leadership roles in my department and on campus as well as in regional professional organizations – including committees on teaching and learning. Education has been and is my life.
Home municipality
Town of Oregon
Home ZIP code
53521
Parent Partnerships: Empower parents with real voice and authority
Smart Stewardship: Accomplish more with the resources we already have
Future-Ready Education: Prepare students for an AI-driven world
Shared Accountability: Raised expectations for students, administrators, and educators
Fiscal Responsibility: Honor taxpayer budgets while planning for the long term
There is physical safety and then playing it safe in life. On the former, being physically safe is a high priority. On the ladder, playing it safe is no good. We need to push our learners to new levels and heights. We must raise our expectations and seek to have our students take calculated risks in their education to grow and excel.
I want to put everything on the table to review in order to vastly improve our educational system and services. I do not just want the trend, I want elevation gain for our learners.
Raising the expectations on admin, teachers, and students
Preparing kids for the advanced AI world
Doing more with less by being fiscally minded
I bring a combination of leadership experience, educational background, and community perspective that I believe prepares me well to serve on the school board. Leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving have been consistent themes throughout my personal and professional life. I am someone who can navigate present challenges while keeping an eye on long-term direction, and I value working with others to find thoughtful, cooperative solutions.
Professionally, I have experience as a former teacher in both K-12 and higher education, as well as a business owner. These roles have allowed me to see education from multiple vantage points, inside the classroom, from an organizational leadership perspective, and as a parent.
