Michael Kirst, President | Trish Boyd Williams, Vice President
James D. Aschwanden | Yvonne Chan | Carl A. Cohn | Aida Molina | James Ramos
Patricia Ann Rucker | Ilene Straus | Caitlin Snell
Dr. Michael Kirst
State Board President
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: January 12, 2011
Michael Kirst Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University. He has been on the Stanford faculty since 1969. Kirst received his Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard. Before joining the Stanford University faculty, Kirst held several positions with the federal government, including Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment and Poverty, and Director of Program Planning for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Office of Education. He was a former president of the California State Board of Education. His latest books are, From High School to College with Andrea Venezia (2004) and Political Dynamics of American Education (2009). Professor Kirst is a member of both the National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education.
Ms. Trish Boyd Williams
State Board Vice President
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: February 9, 2011
Trish Williams served nineteen years as the executive director of EdSource, an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit K-14 research and communications organization, before retiring from that position in June 2011. Williams now divides her time between her State Board service, consulting, and other projects.
While at EdSource, Williams led the growth of the agency’s policy, research, and communications work into a wide range of current K-14 policy, practice, and reform issues, and extended the agency’s reach throughout California and nationally. In addition to her executive director role, Williams served as the project lead for a series of large-scale survey studies, including the landmark Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades study, released in February 2010, and an 8th grade student Algebra placement and proficiency analysis released later that same year.
Before coming to EdSource, Williams served as a presidential management intern and then as a management analyst for three years in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She subsequently served eight years as a program and policy consultant to the director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.
Williams holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's degree in urban studies and public policy from the University of Tulsa in her hometown. Williams is married to Stan Williams, who also committed a long career to public service. Their two sons graduated from California public schools. The oldest, Mike, graduated from Loyola Marymount College and is an aspiring filmmaker in Austin. The youngest, Elliot, graduated from University of California Los Angeles and is now attending medical school at University of California San Diego.
Mr. James D. Aschwanden
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: October 31, 2006
Term Expires: January 15, 2012
Jim Aschwanden has served as the executive director of the California Agricultural Teachers' Association since 1993. Prior to that, he taught at the high school level for 17 years, predominately in the areas of Agricultural Science and Agricultural Economics.
A native of the Central Valley, he graduated from Fresno State University in 1975 with a B.S. in Agricultural Business Management, and later received a Masters in Education from the University of California, Davis. During his teaching tenure, Aschwanden served on the Steering Committee for the State Agricultural Education Curriculum Project, was the primary author of the Agribusiness Management Cluster Course Project, and in 1991 was selected as the National Agri-Science Teacher of the Year by the National Future Farmers of America Organization.
Aschwanden has also served on the Dean's Advisory Committee for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, the California State Plan for Vocational and Technical Education Advisory Committee, the Community College Chancellor's Office Agricultural Education Advisory Committee, and has served two terms as a member of his local high school governing board. He currently serves on advisory councils for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Chico State University.
He and his wife Cathy, a first grade teacher, reside in rural South Sacramento County.
Ms. Yvonne Chan
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: April 15, 2005
Term Expires: January 15, 2012
Yvonne Chan, Ed.D. is the principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles, which serves 2,500 Pre-K-12 students. It has been her mission to turn risks into opportunities for thousands of children, youth and families who live in poverty. In this effort, Dr. Chan has pushed public school reform to its limits. Vaughn serves as a model of Dr. Chan’s innovation which has solved many public education and social challenges, including class-size reduction in all grades, universal preschool education, accelerated English learning, special education full inclusion, longer school day and longer school year, a school-based clinic, family center and business co-op, school-based interagency services, university professional development center, a school-wide teacher peer-review system, and a performance pay plan for all staff. Under Dr. Chan's capable leadership, Vaughn was named the 1995 California Distinguished School and the 1996 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
Her educational achievements include a B.A. in foreign languages from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a M.A. in special education from California State University, Northridge, a doctorate in education from UCLA, and post-doctoral in computer science from UCLA. She is multilingual speaking English, Spanish, French, and Chinese.
In addition to being a school principal, Dr. Chan serves as a commissioner of the Los Angeles City Commission for Community and Family Development. She was awarded the Milken Educator Award, the McGraw Hill Prize in Education Award, and the Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. Her passion for education has spanned nearly 43 years, since her humble beginning as an elementary school teacher in 1968. Arriving in the United States alone at age 17 with just $100 and speaking little English, Dr. Chan set out to pursue the American Dream – a dream she realized and a dream to which she now teaches countless others to aspire.
Mr. Carl A. Cohn
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: January 12, 2011
Carl A. Cohn, Ed.D., is co-director of the Urban Leadership Program and a clinical professor in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Most recently, he served as superintendent of schools in the San Diego Unified School District. Prior to that, he worked as clinical a professor at the University of Southern California, and was a federal court monitor for the special education consent decree in the Los Angeles school system. From 1992 to 2002, he was the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District. His tenure at Long Beach culminated with him winning the McGraw Prize in 2002, and the district winning the Broad Prize in 2003.
Cohn has worked as a faculty advisor for both the Broad Superintendents Academy and the Harvard Urban Superintendents Program. He also serves on the boards of the American College Testing, Inc. (ACT), the Center for Reform of School Systems, and EdSource. Other national school reform activities include service on the Gates Foundation’s Empowering Effective Teachers Advisory Committee, the Teacher Preparation Assessment Consortium, the Advisory Council of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the National Research Council’s independent evaluation of the Washington D.C. Public Schools, and the U.S. Department of Education’s National Technical Advisory Committee.
Among his many publications, Cohn co-edited the 2004 Teachers College Press publication, Partnering to Lead Educational Renewal: High Quality Teachers, High Quality Schools.
Ms. Aida Molina
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: February 9, 2011
Aida Molina has served as the executive director of Academic Improvement and Accountability for Bakersfield City School District since 2005. Previously, Molina was a Commissioner with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing from 2004 to 2007. Molina was a principal with Bakersfield City School District from 2001 to 2005, an elementary school principal with the Sacramento Unified School District from 1999 to 2001, an assistant principal with the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District from 1997 to 1999, and a bilingual teacher from 1992 to 1997. Molina is a member of the California Association of School Administrators and the California Association of Bilingual Educators.
Mr. James Ramos
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: January 12, 2011
James Ramos, MBA, has been a member, since 2005, of the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees, and he is the past president and the first Native American to be elected to the board. In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Ramos to the California State Native American Heritage Commission for which currently serves as chairman. Ramos is a successful entrepreneur, operating several restaurants in the San Bernardino region.
Ramos is a proven civic leader and has served on numerous boards and organizations promoting business, economic and social opportunities in the greater San Bernardino area, including the San Bernardino County Museum Association, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation, Foundation Board of Governors, California State University San Bernardino, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, St. Bernadine Medical Center Foundation, San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, Crafton Hills College Foundation, Arrowhead United Way, and KVCR (Public Television) Foundation for Education.
Through his work as a civic leader, Ramos received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Northern Arizona University (2009), and was awarded the “Keeper of the Light Award" for his distinguished contributions to the Inland Empire education community. He was recognized by the San Bernardino Sun Newspaper as one of ten people "Who Made a Difference in 2000," and earned the 2002 Diversity Award from California State University San Bernardino.
Ramos is a past recipient of the Congressional Community Leadership Award (2003) and in December 2010 was recognized by the California League of High Schools for his support of the education community of Region 10.
Ramos earned his associate's degree at Victor Valley Community College, his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Accounting from California State University, San Bernardino, and a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands.
Mr. Ramos has a deep commitment to the preservation of California Indian culture. He is co-founder of the San Manuel Band’s Cultural Awareness Program, and serves as director of the California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference held annually at California State University, San Bernardino.
Since 2008, he has served as the elected Chairman of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians. Ramos was born and raised on the San Manuel Indian Reservation in Highland, California. He and his wife Terri are the proud parents of four children. James Ramos is the first California Native American to serve on the State Board of Education.
Ms. Patricia Ann Rucker
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: January 12, 2011
Patricia Ann Rucker, of Elk Grove, has worked as the Legislative Advocate for the California Teachers Association since 2008. She also served as a consultant for the California Teachers Association on instruction and professional development from 1997 to 2008 and as a teacher in the Del Paso Heights School District during this same period Rucker was a lecturer in the Teacher Education department at CSU Sacramento from 1983 to 1997.
Dr. Ilene Straus
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: January 12, 2011
Dr. Ilene Straus served as the assistant superintendent for Educational Services in the Beverly Hills Unified School District before retiring in June, 2011. Prior to that, she was a teacher and an elementary, middle, and high school principal. Straus received her bachelor’s degree and elementary teaching credential from University of California, Los Angeles, her master's degree in educational administration from California State University, Northridge, and her doctorate in educational leadership from University of Southern California.
Straus began her career as a teacher in the Lennox School District, and served as an assistant principal at two large K-6 schools before becoming a K-7 principal at the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. Dr. Straus was named principal of Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica where she served for 16 years, leading the school to national distinction as the Disney School of the Year, a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and twice recognized as a California Distinguished School. Straus was named the California Secondary Principal of the Year in 1991, and received the YWCA Woman of the Year Award in 1996.
In 2002, Straus was named chief educational officer-principal of Santa Monica High School, where she guided the redesign of a large comprehensive high school into six smaller learning communities, helping the school to raise its academic performance index, which had been declining before her arrival, by 75 points. The U.S. Department of Education declared the school a national model for high school redesign, and Newsweek named it one of the country’s top 300 performing high schools. Straus next served as the senior director of Secondary Education for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, and joined Beverly Hills Unified School District in the fall of 2006 as assistant superintendent, where she developed stronger high school graduation requirements and intervention programs to support student success, as well as initiatives in mathematics and literacy. She has taught graduate courses in educational leadership, supervision, and curriculum and instruction at California State University, Northridge, University of Southern California, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Straus has two adult children and lives with her husband in Marina del Rey. Dr. Straus currently focuses her time on State Board of Education priorities and responsibilities, consulting, and educational projects.
Caitlin Snell, Student Member
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: August 1, 2011
Term Expires: July 12, 2012
Caitlin Snell, 17, of San Diego, has been appointed to the State Board of Education as the 2011-2012 Student Member. She is a senior at Point Loma High School. Snell plays varsity volleyball and has directed the variety show at her local elementary school from 2007-2011. She is president of her school's Student 2 Student program, which helps new students adapt to their new school. Snell serves as the Vice-Chair of the San Diego Youth Commission, and is an alumnus of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Organization, which strives to lead others through their passion for community service.
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