School Division Candidate

HR Director for Adams 14 School District

Education/Special Courses/Certifications

B.A., Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

M.A., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Colorado Denver

Principal K–12 Licensed

Ed.D—Leadership in Educational Equity, in progress

Employment History

In my career, I served in schools in the Metro and mountain communities as a classroom teacher, a school administrator, a bus driver and currently as a human resources director.

Organizational Affiliations/Achievements

In my professional role, I serve as member of CASPA (Colorado Association of School Personnel Administrators), and CASE (Colorado Association of School Executives). In my personal life, I serve on POSAC (Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee) for Boulder County.

Responses to Key Questions

Candidate responses were limited to 100-150 words; responses have not been edited by PERA.

Interest in Serving as a PERA Trustee

Please briefly describe why you are interested in being elected to the PERA Board of Trustees.

Working in schools allows me to support student, staff and community success. As a school district leader, my level of commitment of service to provide for our staff is unparalleled. I believe in advocating for the necessary changes to support our members success. As a trustee, I will support the growth and development of the PERA fund to support the financial security of our members.

Challenges/Opportunities Facing PERA

Please describe what you consider as areas of challenge/opportunity facing PERA and the Board’s role in addressing these issues.

The PERA website refresh has significantly improved the ability for members to access their accounts. And the webinar sessions are quite informative. However, I wonder how informed the average member is about their retirement needs. We need to identify additional methods to connect with our members. HR managers in school systems are not equally informed which could be a great venue for helping our members be more informed as well. Additionally, we need to survey our members to better understand their needs and help them become more informed.

The Role of a Trustee

What do you see as the role of a Trustee on the PERA Board?

The role of the Trustee is to act in the interest of PERA members to guarantee solvency and stability of the retirement accounts. In addition, the Trustee should be well informed of current and future policy matters. The Trustee should serve the members and advocate for them. As a member of the PERA board, I would act on the behalf of the school based members to advocate for their future earnings. My role as a Trustee is to be balanced, inquisitive and active in monitoring the changes that can impact our members.