City of San FranciscoCandidate for Board of Education

I am a public school parent whose work in public education ranges from supporting preschool teachers, building elementary, middle and high school programs, to counseling and advocating for community college and high school students.

My dad came to this country in the late sixties as a graduate student, then went to work in a budding Silicon Valley. My mom found work as a seamstress in Chinatown, relying on me to translate English terms for her so she could become naturalized. My immigrant story is not uncommon. It goes back to a time when people came to this country hoping to prosper, and parents wanted better lives for their children through education. I have a BA in human biology from Stanford University and an MA in counseling psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies. My son is currently attending 5^th grade at a public school in the Richmond district of San Francisco.

My public education career spans two decades; in the nineties I started a mentoring program in the Bayview and ran an after-school and Beacon program in the Mission. As a teachers’ union leader and activist, I worked on the front lines to defend City College of San Francisco from closure during the 4 ½-year long accreditation crisis, keeping the doors of access open for immigrants, working parents, veterans, ESL learners—all who benefit from a college education. With the passage of Free City College, I did outreach with a coalition of community groups so that San Franciscans can achieve their goals without the burden of college debt. As an academic counselor, I’ve supported thousands of students on their college paths, and most recently, worked with the entire senior class from two SFUSD high schools enrolled in Early College. I have also volunteered for several years at A.P. Giannini Middle School and Mission High and served on a district task force to revamp K-5 report cards based on the Common Core standards.

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I support communities that are inclusive and diverse, where we take care of one another, especially the most vulnerable. Our dwellings should be affordable for people at all income levels, from college graduates to the retired. Our neighborhoods should be safe from environmental pollution and hazards. In an ideal world, we would not have a homeless crisis propelled by market forces and a history of housing disinvestment. But given the realities, we need to extend compassion to those on the streets through creative, comprehensive solutions and prevent more displacement, especially for families.

As an elected ADEM delegate to the CA Democratic Party, I’ve worked with people in both AD 19 and 17 to advocate for single payer health care locally and in Sacramento; meet with legislators and form a new coalition to support affordable housing and infrastructure; organize meetings and a town hall to engage the public. I have been knocking on doors and phone banking for the Democratic Party for almost two decades. This spring I organized volunteers in my district for the June 2018 Prop C campaign, whose passage is a credit to grassroots engagement despite the large sums spent against the universal childcare measure.

Here is how I envision our communities in the context of serving our youth and families as school board commissioner: Through the expanded Beacon initiative ($50 million), we can maximize use of our public spaces like school buildings to serve as community centers in the evenings and on weekends. SFUSD’s community schools framework can be taken to the next level, focused on critical resources for neighborhoods, cultural programming, health education, internships and summer job opportunities, support for children of working parents and those with special needs, as well as activities for toddlers through seniors.