Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Dixie School District

Karen Crockett is an attorney, the mother of two children attending Dixie schools, and a frequent volunteer in her children's schools. Her daughter, Melanie (age 10), is a 5th grader at Dixie Elementary School, and her son, Danny (age 12), is a 7th grader at Miller Creek Middle School. Both children are having fabulous experiences in the Dixie schools, which have provided them with a top notch educational, social and cultural environment.

Karen's dedication to the Dixie schools is evidenced by her volunteer efforts, which include serving as the Dixie School Scrip Committee Chair for the past 3 years. In this capacity, she took over the Scrip Program mid-year in the 1998-99 school year at which point it was earning $7,000 per year. In less than 3 years, she has turned it into a program that is now netting over $24,000 per year for the school. Karen also worked on the successful 1999 bond measure campaign for the Dixie School District and San Rafael City Schools by participating in phone banks and precinct walking. She has assisted the Dixie School District and Dixie Home and School Club by putting into place standard agreements for staff recruited by the Home and School Club. She regularly volunteers in her children's classrooms, drives on field trips, participates in school fundraisers, assists with school performances, and generally gives support in the same way as hundreds of other Dixie School District parents do to make our schools successful.

Karen has been an active supporter of the petition to create a Terra Linda Unified (K-12) School District. The petition is aimed at changing the governance structure of the San Rafael City Schools and the Dixie School District. If the petition is successful, Terra Linda High School will be governed by the Dixie School District instead of the San Rafael City Schools, and the Dixie School District will provide a K-12 program for its students. The petition received a positive recommendation by the Marin County Committee on School District Organization in August 2001 and is currently before the State Board of Education.

Professionally, Karen is a practicing attorney with over 17 years of experience. She specializes in intellectual property law, information technology law and complex transactions involving information technology systems. For the past 5 years, she has served as Assistant General Counsel of a major international public accounting and consulting firm and Chair of the firm's Global Intellectual Property Task Force. Prior to joining her current employer, she worked as an attorney for 12 years with a large international law firm. Before attending law school, Karen worked as a public accountant and earned her CPA certificate.

She has been married for 15 years to Greg Stepanicich, also an attorney. Greg specializes in municipal law, and is the managing partner of his firm's San Francisco office. He has a number of municipal clients in the Bay Area, including the City of Mill Valley, for whom he works as City Attorney.

Professional Affiliations:

Member of the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, Computer Law Association, Firm Designee for the International Trademark Association

Other Community Affiliations in San Rafael:

Steering Committee member, San Rafael Communities United for a Better Education; Board of Directors, Foundation For Excellence in Public Schools

Education:

Juris Doctor, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University; Bachelor of Science, Accounting, Brigham Young University

Community Activities Prior to Moving to San Rafael in 1997:

Co-Chair of Pasadena Planned Parenthood annual dinner dance, Board of Directors and Finance Committee Chair of Pasadena YWCA; Board of Directors and legal counsel (pro bono) for Project D.A.Y., a joint powers authority that serves at-risk youth in Pasadena, CA; Legal counsel (pro bono) for Committee for Children with Special Needs; docent for Pasadena Heritage, a non-profit historic preservation organization; volunteer attorney for Alliance for Children's Rights in Los Angeles, a non-profit legal aid organization providing legal representation of indigent children