Born to Greek immigrants and raised in the NY/NJ area, I was fortunate to grow up in a family where hard work and learning, including different languages (e.g., Spanish and Greek) and what we now call ‘STEAM’, was at our core and our education was always a top priority.

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My own time as a student in public schools taught me the importance of fostering a lifelong ‘learning mindset’ as a foundation for long-term success in school and beyond.

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After graduate school, I made the big move to California and moved to the Coastside in 2002 – and haven’t looked back since. My husband, Joshua, has been a true partner throughout our many years of career and family, and we are proud to be raising our two boys, Rowan (14) and Oliver (11) as part of the next generation of Coastsiders.

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During my 17-year career in biotech, including 12 years at Genentech/Roche, I gravitated toward roles, mostly in business and communications, where I could help innovate ways to deliver science for the benefit of patients with serious unmet medical needs.

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Kids grow up fast – and there is still so much to learn about our world! – so I shifted gears from my biotech career to focus on my family and our community in 2016, succeeding that November on my first run for our local school board.

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Over the past four years as a school board member, I've been actively engaged on a broad range of topics and activities, including overseeing district leadership changes; significant budget cuts; major progress in deepening collaboration across our school community, including educators, parent groups, community non-profit groups, and Latinx community leaders; and now navigating schooling during a global public health pandemic, social unrest, and economic recession.

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​I've aimed to bring evidence-based, contextualized decision-making and spirit of collaborative leadership needed to appropriately balance the short- and long-term needs of our school community.​  In being realistic but hopeful, and in approaching 'challenges' as 'opportunities,' I hope to continue helping our school community maximize its resources to benefit all our students and in particular, those who need our support the most.

In my 'free' time when not volunteering for our schools in this role or caring for my family, I enjoy spending time adventuring in our incredible beach trails, redwood forests, local museums, and my own backyard (birding, beekeeping, raising chickens, gardening, and more!).

I'd be honored by the opportunity to apply my skills and passion for our community in serving a second term on the Cabrillo Unified School District Governing Board!

Throughout my career of working in a diverse education field as a behavior specialist, including 4 years with Cabrillo Unified School District, I am always guided towards the most challenging roles, where I work tirelessly to develop and create innovative solutions and deliver optimal support and interventions which benefits the students, parents, and teachers alike.

I value working respectfully and dilligently in an environment that is often highly disregulated, with my main goal of providing effective tools and strategies that are based on observable and measurable data that I analyze through an objective lens.

More importantly, I always focus on the whole child in a compassionate, empathetic, and understanding nature, which are all skills that I know, paired with my Masters of Science in Education, with an emphasis in Educational Leadership, will effectively and efficiently transfer over to my role as your Cabrillo Unified School Board district leader.

I opted to forgo all political partisan endorsements, as I feel there is no room on our school board for any other platform, other than that of the unique needs of our rural coastal community in Half Moon Bay. However, I look forward to working with all stakeholders, including CA legislatures, to develop important programs and legislation that will have a positive impact for our students, parents, and teachers alike. 

Throughout my robust career in the education field, I can tell you one thing is for sure. No matter how much district leaders communicate to their stakeholders the latest “trending” terms and use of analogies and inspirational quotes, this will never help guide a classroom, school, or district in a positive direction, no matter how many times the use of rhetoric in its finest form is used to talk about equity, safety, and progress.

The fact is this, we need to pay our teachers a living wage and truly bridge the achievement gap that is heavily impacting our Latino/Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged community here in Half Moon Bay. We must ensure students of all abilities receive the necessary supports and understanding that should be afforded to each and every one of our scholars.

Finally, we must bring community accountability to all stakeholders, by providing objective and transparent communication, that is not only heard but truly understood.