I came to Fremont with my wife over 25 years ago full of ambition supported strongly by confidence in my education and my culture that had taught me to work hard and to also contribute to the wellbeing of others around me. Our primary reason for selecting Fremont was the excellent quality of education awaiting my future kids.

As a father of two young adults that graduated from FUSD recently, I am proud to say that I can attribute their well-rounded personalities to the education they received as well as the extra-curricular opportunities available to them through FUSD.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to contribute back to society through multiple non-profit organizations and specifically to FUSD by serving as a volunteer and donor at MSJE and MSJHS. I served on the executive Board of MPPFA for several years – with 4 years as the President of MPPFA.

During my tenure as the President, I was blessed to be part of a strong team of volunteers over the years. We also created a very cohesive and collaborative work environment with all stakeholders; resulting in broad impact across the board.

A great metric of success is usually how the community members rally behind the team are open their pocketbooks to support. Over a 5-year period we increased the amount of funds raised annually from about $70K to $175K with record number of parents participating.

As your representative, I will push to replicate the same collaborative working model with high transparency!

I am an engineer by profession with two masters degrees, one each in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. I have been working in chip design related field for 25+ years. Along the way, I have founded two companies. Currently I work as Vice President of the #1 chip design tools company managing over $400M in revenues. In this role I manage a global team and am responsible for customer satisfaction and success with our tools.

Born and raised in Fremont, Lucy Shen (沈静雨) is running to bring a focus on mental health, diversity, and transparency to the school board, while ensuring that all Fremont students are safe and healthy during the COVID pandemic. Having  attended Fremont schools, Lucy has a deep understanding of the FUSD student experience, both the strengths and what can be improved. Lucy is also a daughter of bilingual immigrants and will use that to bridge the generational and cultural gaps between the school board and the community.

Lucy's work on the CHPSE Task Force helped her understand the views of all stakeholders—parents, teachers, staff, and students. The recommendations she made led to the implementation of a high quality curriculum that addressed everyone’s needs. As a youth mentor with StandUp for Kids, Girls who Code, and Spark, Lucy empowered at-risk and minority youth to achieve their full potential. In addition, Lucy understands how to use technology to increase board transparency and efficiency from her experiences as a software engineer and a former MIT researcher. Lucy looks forward to bringing that same passion for health and safety, transparency, and diversity to the school board.

A FUSD School Board member works to ensure and improve high quality, equitable education across the district by serving as the liaison between parents, teachers, students, and staff. For every decision we make - whether about budgeting, curricula, or human resources - it will be my job as a trustee to be an excellent listener, elicit community viewpoints, and incorporate feedback to make decisions that center the learning and development of all students.

From my experiences working with the district and conversations with past and current trustees, I know improvements can be made to increase community engagement. The board needs to decrease the barriers to entry for participating in district meetings and ensure that all public data and policy decisions are transparent and easy to find. Additionally, if elected, I will champion 1) accessibility through email, phone and in-person; 2) regular office hours and linguistically accessible parent education nights; and 3) trustee participation in school and community events. 

Finally, given our district’s budget crisis, it is critical for trustees to understand public financing and be knowledgeable on how funding formulas and state legislation impact our school district. I have experience engaging with policymakers in Sacramento and Washington D.C., and will leverage that experience to follow these higher-level policies, communicate information with constituents, and ensure that our students’ needs are met.

Michele Berke has been in the Bay area working and living in Fremont for almost 30 years. She has a BA in Political Science and a minor in Spanish from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco, and a Ph.D. in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Berke's teaching credentials are in the areas of Multiple Subjects and Educational Specialist: Deaf/Hard of Hearing. She also holds eligibility for an administrative services credential and has completed the Masters in Governance (MiG) program through the California School Boards Association. Before moving to California, Berke was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Berke currently works at the California School for the Deaf (CSD) as the Principal of the Early Childhood Education Department. Previously, Berke was the Student Outcomes Teacher Specialist, where she was responsible for coordinating all of the state-mandated assessments, providing training and support to teachers and principals with data that informs instruction, and working with families. She has served on accreditation committees and has represented CSD at the California Department of Education's summit on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as well as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).  

Berke is a proud parent of a FUSD student and has volunteered at her child's school in the classroom and school events, on the parent organization and on the School Site Council. 

In January 2015, Berke was appointed as a Board Trustee to the Fremont Unified School District to fill a vacancy on the Board and elected to the position in 2016.  In this role, she has served on the Budget Committee,  the Curriculum & Instruction Committee, the Supplemental Materials Committee and the Immersion Task Force.

Michele and her husband, Tom Holcomb, have four children and five grandchildren.