A musician, a composer, a parent, a volunteer and a community leader. My name is Melissa Stanis and I am here to support our schools and community by representing you as we move forward with reimagining education - during COVID-19 and beyond. 

I have two boys, ages 12 and 8, and have been a parent in Saratoga Union School District since my older son started kindergarten.  As a volunteer, I was initially in the classroom about once a week. Over the past several years, my involvement has grown to include many facets of education in our district.  In my work on several district-wide committees, I have established working relationships with all our district leadership from the superintendent, to the assistant superintendent, to the principals at all the school sites. During this time, I have worked to bring students, families and our community together. 

• Saratoga Elementary PTA Executive Board, Executive Vice President (2019-2020)

• Saratoga Elementary PTA Executive Board, Vice President of Programs (2017-2019)

• Worked closely with the Saratoga Elementary principal and teachers on new and exisiting programs

• Managed the Saratoga Elementary School musical (2020)

• Responsible for public PTA budgets, contracts, fundraising and corporate matching

• Engineering manager for over 10 years

• Active school volunteer for over 9 Years: classroom, school events, emcee for school parties and much, much, more

• Saratoga Little League volunteer: lead team score keeper, prepared and lined fields, etc. (2016-2020)

• Volunteer coach for Los Gatos/Saratoga Recreation youth basketball

• Parent of two children (grades 6 & 8) who have attended SUSD schools since kindergarten

• Promote high quality, well-rounded, public education

• Foster meaningful and strong community engagement

• Maintain fiscal responsibility

• Collaborate with students, teachers, parents and administrators on important programs and policies

• Solicit feedback from teachers, parents and faculty on ways to improve campus safety and security

• Support inclusive programs for special education and students who learn differently

• Encourage and support environmentally friendly campuses and programs

• Build a positive school culture to acknowledge and address racism, sexism, harassment and bullying

• Support the Parent Teacher Associations and the Saratoga Education Foundation

• Adapt to the challenges of COVID-19

My name is Dr. Azadeh Weber. I was born in Logan, Utah and am a bicultural Iranian American woman. My father, aunts, and uncles moved from Iran to the United States for their undergraduate and graduate studies. My mother and her siblings were born in Texas and grew up around different air force bases across the world. Shortly after I was born I moved to San Antonio, Texas for a few years and then I moved with my family to Tehran, Iran for a couple of years. At age 8, I moved to California. I graduated from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino. My best memory of Monta Vista was being the only freshman on the varsity soccer team, making the All-League team for CCS in school soccer as a freshman, and playing on the district Olympic Development Team (soccer) for two years. 

I have a bachelors, masters, and doctorate degree in Psychology. My minor is in holistic health, and I have explored mental health from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Islamic Medicine. Prior to graduate school I worked in business development for various technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. During my doctoral studies I was elected Diversity Representative. I also served children with terminal illness and their families to overcome anxieties with fun activities within Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Hospital. My clinical training involved being a mental health counselor for K-12 students within the San Francisco, Novato, and Palo Alto Unified School Districts. I completed my postdoctoral fellowship with Center for Occupational Health, where I assisted with psychiatric evaluations of workers with claims of industrial injury. My responsibilities included responding to attorneys, reviewing hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records per claimant, administering assessments, participating in the clinical interview, and working with one other person to produce a report to submit to the Workers Compensation Judge. 

Currently, I am a mental health consultant who serves mainly Muslim communities, domestically and abroad. I am also the Chairperson Elect of Consulting, Industrial, and Organizational Psychology Division of California Psychological Association. Prior to becoming Chairperson Elect for this division, I was the lobby and advocacy representative on the board and promoted mental health bills to various state level politicians.

I am married and have 2 children. My hobbies are organizing social groups, gardening, seeking knowledge, and aerial acrobatics.

Even though I am the only non-registered Democrat running, the election for Saratoga Union School Board is nonpartisan and my political philosophy is not applicable. I would like to apply my experience serving multiple school districts as a mental health professional and social networking skills to enhance student centered learning experiences. I support increased opportunities for students to learn about their own culture in school because I am aware of the role culture plays in identity formation.

All education in public schools in France, from preschool to University with a PhD in Sciences

SUSD after school orchestra liaison

Key contributor to have orchestra as an elective at the middle school in 2017, with strong community support

Key parent involvement in task force and board meetings since 2015

Parent of two children (grade 9 and grade 7) who have attended SUSD schools since Kindergarten

Engineer for over 20 years in high technology industries