Background & Motivation For Running

By Edwin N. "Nick" Homer

Then I moved to Irvine and started my career as a management consultant - first with Arthur Andersen, then as a partner with Price Waterhouse (now PwC), and more recently as co-founder an independent management consulting firm. I formed this firm so that I could bring Big 4 skills and experience to organizations that could not afford the fees of larger consulting firms.

While a Partner with Price Waterhouse, I ran their San Diego consulting practice for a while and headed their higher education consulting practice. I have consulted with some thirty west coast-based colleges and universities. Seven years ago while still consulting, I started Good Citizen, a non-profit designed to teach Americans how to be effective citizens. As part of the work we are doing at Good Citizen, for the past 3 years, I have substituted in grades K-12 in almost every school in the DSUSD and PSUSD.

MOTIVATION My motivation for running for the Board comes from my time spent in the classrooms of DSUSD over the past three years.

During this time, I saw why the DSUSD is rated as an average district in a state that is ranked very close to the bottom in terms of academic performance. For the parents of DSUSD children, this fact must be disappointing. And for those entrusted with their education, this should be unacceptable. It's unacceptable to me.

This time has also given me a good sense of what's needed to give the kids of the DSUSD the education they need and the education we are capable of giving them. It's not about money, it's about the "will to be excellent".

EXPERIENCE I know that my experience as a management consultant, my time teaching in the District and my personal qualities will allow me to be a positive force for change as a member of the school board.

If those I've worked with over the years were here, they'd all tell you one thing. I am a catalyst for change. I am someone who gets immersed, someone who in independent and fair even in the face of pressure not to be, someone who cuts to the heart of the issues, and someone who is creative and does what is needed to be successful.

Recognition is not something that motivates me. I get satisfaction in life from helping, from making things better, from not accepting "we can't do it" and mediocrity, from being a catalyst for change, and by treating everyone I work with as an equal.

I can be a positive force in the District during this important period. I hope to have that opportunity and I'm ready to start.