Allan Hancock Joint Community College DistrictCandidate for Trustee, Trustee Area 2

For over 30 years I have been involved with Allan Hancock College, as a Computer Science Professor, a PCPA board member, and facilitating nursing and other student internships while managing education programs for Marian/AG/French Hospitals. I understand the immense value that Hancock College brings to our community. Both my Bachelor’s and Doctorate degrees are in education, with my dissertation, “The Planning and Implementation of Online Distance Learning in the California Community Colleges” being very relevant now. In addition, I am a former School Board Member for the Hope School District in Santa Barbara. With my vast range of educational and community experience, I am perfectly qualified and committed to providing excellent and accountable leadership.

While at Hancock, I led several grants that enhanced educational opportunities for the under-represented. I also interacted with all the area high schools to ensure that students knew what the college had to offer and were prepared to take on this new challenge in their lives. I have also been both a credit and non-credit student at Hancock, therefore experiencing the student side as well.

I have been incredibly involved in our community. As the President of the Board for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, I oversaw the fundraising, budget, and building of the current facility. I have been on seven different PTA boards while my five children attended the local schools. I have also served on boards and volunteered for numerous other non-profit organizations in the Santa Maria Valley. I am currently the Treasurer of the Orcutt Children’s Art Foundation.

Knowing the college and the community as well as I do will allow me to interact effectively with all of the various constituents to ensure that students receive the highest-quality education, strong programs of community education are maintained, entertainment and enrichment opportunities return, and the college maintains its outstanding status as one of the top employers in our community. I support the Hancock Promise in that it enables equal access for everyone to a college education and will encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities Hancock provides.

I look forward to working with people of many backgrounds and skill sets to continue the tradition of excellence at Allan Hancock College.

School boards are non-partisan. That being said, trustees need to be aware of the various issues that are a concern to their constituancy, be they political or not. 

I strive to listen to all sides. I appreciate what differing opinions bring to the table. I also realize that no one has all the answers, that compromise is often necessary, and that some may not like the ultimate decision of the board.

I represent no special interest groups and have no agenda. I am running for the Allan Hancock College Board of Trustees to give back to the college and the community that have given so much to me, and to ensure that the excellence of the college is maintained.