Candidate for
Board Member; Gilroy Unified School District

I was born in New York City, and moved with my family to suburban Rockland County when I was four years old. My parents had nine children, and I was the middle child of the nine. My parents worked very hard to put us all through parochial schools, and I had an excellent classical education. I attended a rigorous college-preparatory high school, Albertus Magnus and then studied philosophy at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. I held a job since turning sixteen to help defray the cost of my education. I have a large supportive family who all live in the New York City area, and we remain close despite the fact that I have moved across the country.

I met my husband Nick in 1986, and we were married six months later. We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Our first child Carly was born in 1989; she is currently a senior at Gilroy High School. Our son Daniel was born in 1991 and he just started as a freshman at Gilroy High School this year. My youngest daughter Kimberly was born in 1993 and she attends Brownell Middle School. All of my children have attended Gilroy public schools, and we have been blessed to have had some wonderful caring teachers at Rucker School, Brownell Middle School and Gilroy High School.

I have been involved in Gilroy classroom since Carly started kindergarten. I believe that the greatest degree of success for students can be obtained if they come from a family that supports and values education. My husband worked in high tech as an engineer, and later in sales so that I could stay home and raise our three children. I never lose sight of the fact that I was privileged to be able to stay home and care for our children. I was a longtime opinion columnist for the Gilroy Dispatch, frequently writing about my experience as a parent in this district. I had the opportunity to hear from many people in Gilroy expressing both joy and frustration concerning their children's educational experience. This networking with the community is one of the reasons that motivated me to run for School Board.

Nick and I have fulfilled our dream of working together, and we are both self-employed as realtors at Century 21 in Gilroy, I love working in Gilroy as it affords me the opportunity to stay involved in the lives of my children and continue to volunteer in this community which I love.