I'm running for school board

The Tamalpais Union High School District needs a change

I am running for Tam District School Board to bring better judgment, clearer reasoning, and more trust to the choices ahead. I have two kids in our district high schools. I want them and all students to love high school as much as I did.

Our current board could and should be better. We need to support and fund policies to lift up underperforming and high-performing students alike. We need to support our programs for student belonging. The board needs to prepare students for AI. And it needs to communicate better with the public, so that the public has confidence to support the schools, which we will need to pass the right parcel tax.

I understand that teachers in the classroom and parents at home are doing the hard work of teaching our students every day. The board sets district-level policies and oversees the administration. Here are three policy priorities.

I will focus on academic excellence. That means helping to attract and retain the best teachers. It also means expecting administrators to deliver improvement based on fair, equitable, and high standards. I want our schools to train scientists, artists, professionals of all kinds. As a board member, I will be thinking about how our policy can help create the right environment for students to succeed.

I will focus on AI. Many of us use AI in some way. I do. Our kids are using it too. The greatest risk for our students right now is that AI will become a core part of their problem-solving process at vulnerable age, impairing their ability to produce quality work without it. Students should learn about AI and how to use AI, but we cannot allow students to surrender the hardest part of learning to machines. This is a matter of both equity and academic excellence: students who rely on AI will fall behind, while those who learn without it, and then learn to use it, will excel.

I will focus on communication. I want the board to work better for the people it serves, which means improving communication and trust. At times, the incumbent board has not explained itself clearly or treated the public with respect. As a board member, I will listen and provide clear, respectful explanations of board actions, even when we disagree.

My professional experiences have prepared me for this position. I have served as a lawyer for governments, universities, and Fortune 100 companies. I have long advocated for our public institutions, partnering with leading democracy organizations to protect voting rights, limit money in politics, and check presidential overreach. I fight for more representative government, and will bring that experience to the school board, for a better board, so that all students can succeed.