Why are you running for CCSD Trustee? What is your vision of success for this role? 

I’m running for CCSD Trustee because I want to bring results to our community, resources to our teachers, and career and college readiness to our students.

In this role, my goal is to be an accountable and accessible trustee for all educators and students in the district. I’m committed to supporting the Superintendent and the board’s goals to improve outcomes over the next four years. This vision guides my ambition for educators and ensures reliability for families and students.

How do you define student success? What experience do you have and what role do you intend to play in advocating for student success?

Student success to me is ensuring that our students have the resources and tools necessary to be successful throughout K-12 and in their personal lives. I was a student not too long ago – in fact, eight years ago when I graduated from Valley High School’s International Baccalaureate program. The experience that I have is two fold: one, being fortunate enough to be able to communicate with resource counselors and teachers on what I need to be successful and two, having to fight for scholarships, resources, and opportunities. I know first-hand the determination that students need to have in order to fight for scholarships and resources, and I see every day how District A families want to make sure their children have a bright future post-senior year in college.

My role, when elected Trustee this January, is to be a true partner and advocate for student success. That means utilizing my role to create public-private partnerships with the Superintendent’s team and our nonprofit and business community. Additionally, to enhance financial resources, after-school volunteer activities, and social support resources for our students and their families. My role is to see a vision, measure the community and political will around it, and deliver for District A families. With my experience in public service, I am best equipped to be able to successfully deliver results to improve student success in the district.

On the 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), fourth-grade students, in Nevada, scored 6 points lower in math and 7 points lower in reading when compared to 2019. If elected, how can you use your position to ensure Nevada stops following this national trend and starts leading the way for student outcomes?

When I am elected, I will utilize my position to ensure Nevada stops following the national trend by addressing underlying social and community factors that contribute to low student performance. My campaign is focused on 3 R’s: results, resources, and readiness.

When elected, I will convene stakeholders to review current educational policies, methodologies via CCSD’s Curriculum and Instruction Division, and look to state standards with the Nevada State Board of Education to begin plans for improvement.

We cannot afford to postpone action on improving math and reading outcomes for our students within the CCSD Board of Trustees any longer. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate closely with CCSD administrators, educators, parents, and stakeholders to implement evidence-based solutions tailored to the unique needs of our students.

What, if any, barriers currently exist to educational excellence and equity for every student? If elected to the Board of Trustees, how will you help eliminate these barriers?

There are several key barriers that exist in educational excellence and equity for each student. Some examples include: access to quality educators, retention of quality educators in the classroom, morale in the school district, unequal distribution of dollars and resources per student, access to rigorous and advanced coursework, and access to extracurricular activities in the district. I believe that these barriers pose a threat to successful futures for our children in our public education system. I hope to be a bridge that pushes the CCSD Board of Trustees to continue their work in addressing these forms of educational inequities.

When elected, I will work to eliminate these barriers by being practical and solutions-oriented. We need to have Trustees that are effective with results, and efficient with the time they have on the school board.

First, I would advocate for equitable resource allocation. This is done through working with the Superintendent and the CCSD Central Office on what we are doing to improve these outcomes that are continued barriers to our students and staff.

Second, when elected to the school board, I would address eliminating these barriers by setting rigorous goals amongst the board and the Superintendent. I would work closely with the Superintendent to monitor, track, and succeed in these goals. Moreso, I’d work with staff and colleagues to report to the Nevada Legislature and local municipalities on where we need serious district intervention and additional resources.

Third, when elected, I will ensure that schools are getting the best access to funding, grants, and additional dollars to support their programs with advocacy from the Trustees and enhanced methods from the Superintendent’s office.

We can do this and much more if we work together and create new strategies toward success.

What do you believe are the top three most persistent challenges facing the CCSD Board of Trustees? What is an example of a bold approach you would propose to address one of those challenges?

In the past six months, I have done my homework and have met with or have connected verbally with each sitting Trustee, and have identified a pattern of behaviors that may limit our success in the next four years.

With my research, homework, and diligence, I have identified the three following challenges facing the CCSD Board of Trustees.

1. Good Governance – Good governance goes much further than Nevada Revised Statutes, knowing Robert’s Rules of Order, and how to pass or motion things during a meeting. Good governance entails public performance evaluations, annual reports to the public, and being respectful of the taxpayer’s engagement. In essence, we need to have Trustees who are regularly collaborating with our non-profit, business, and education community on ways to improve the enterprise.
2. Student Outcomes and Results – My 3 “R’s” (results, resources, readiness) includes this. Student outcomes include math scores and literacy proficiencies. We know that most recently, Nevada ranked lower in both math and reading proficiencies than years past. With good board governance, a strong vision, and accountability, we can address ensuring that students are getting the best results that will set them up for a bright future.
3. Addressing Emerging Community Issues – From chronic absenteeism, zoning, enrollment, funding, and so many more – the CCSD Board of Trustees struggle with addressing these issues head on with the public and with municipalities. We need to ensure that we are addressing emerging issues with the appropriate industries and partners to better rectify these issues. By being solutions-oriented and goal driven we can fix these persistent challenges.

A bold approach I would propose to address one of these challenges include working directly with the Superintendent and keeping their team accountable with appropriate timelines that are set with our education union and business community.

These dates will be public and I will be a staunch advocate of ensuring that the Superintendent’s team meet these deadlines and work on them to get them the community resources in meeting them. Further, the board’s role is to set a vision, gather resources, and assist the Superintendent in meeting the everyday demands that the job entails. We need Trustees that are steadfast in this bold approach.

In January four appointed members were added to the Board of Trustees. How will you leverage the expertise of these appointed members to best serve students? Do you think the appointed members should be voting members? 

I am grateful to have already leveraged the expertise of these appointed members while on the campaign trail. I am grateful for the leadership of the City of North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Clark County, and Henderson in appointing four new members who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the board. When elected, I will leverage their expertise to best serve students by calling on them to give official recommendations to motions that the voting members put up at meetings. Additionally, I will invite them with me when I am conducting outreach in the community with the Superintendent. I intend to run a grassroots tenure as a school board member, and I will bring these non-voting, appointed members with me when I meet with community stakeholders.

Further, I am the first person at the Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s Southern Nevada Forum event, in the education breakout committee, to note publicly that I am in full support that the legislature should pass legislation in the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session to give the four appointed members the ability to vote. I am in full support of this, and would work directly with our business, nonprofit, and education community leaders to advocate for a legislative bill. Our four appointed members bring tremendous experience to this position. I encourage the Nevada public and those interested in improving education to look into their amazing qualifications.

Research suggests that more than 50% of a board meeting should be focused on student outcomes. How would you ensure the board allocates this amount of time to student outcomes?

Absolutely. When I am meeting with parents, teachers, and residents in District A – the first thing out of my mouth is: student results and teacher resources. We need to ensure that the board allocates agenda time to student outcomes. In this election, I am the only candidate who brings local, state, and federal government experience to this seat. When I am elected, I will bring that experience to the board meeting room, and will remain laser focused on student outcomes.

Because of my experience and journey in public service, it behooves me to ensure that every agenda item, motion, and input when I unmute my microphone will be focused on student results. Further, my experience urges me to always keep the student’s academic journey in mind, and to be mindful of the time we are spending on agenda items that pertain to students in the district.

Lastly, Opportunity 180 and your members have my commitment and pledge that at every minute that I will be sitting at a board meeting, it will be focused on results, resources, and readiness. I hope you can join me in this steadfast approach.

If elected to the Board, how would you approach challenging conversations and/or criticisms that might arise from fellow Board members, stakeholders, and the broader community?

Because of my 10+ years working in local, state, and federal government, along with my experience working with and for volunteer nonprofit boards and commissions, I have found that community input and healthy criticism is the basis of a well-functioning board. I approach challenging conversations and criticisms that may arise from fellow board members, community stakeholders, parents, educators, and Nevadans with kindness, compassion, professionalism, and respectful austerity.

The National Association of Independent Schools (“Independent Ideas: Navigate Difficult Conversations as a School Leader”, Levinson, M., 2024 Feb. 26) notes that “establishing trust” and “recognizing value” are important tools when engaging with our community. I will be steadfast in welcoming unique perspectives when I am elected.

I am a big believer in the mantra: “iron sharpens iron”, and that dissenting opinions can either solidify our rationale, or open our perspective to something that is uniquely different. As a full-time non-profit professional working in the civil rights space, I understand that having different perspectives are beneficial towards making progress.

I will actively encourage persistent feedback from the non-profit, business, education community on a monthly and quarterly basis. Further, I will be an accountable public servant that gets our community the answers in a professional, timely, and responsible way that is accessible to all Nevadans. When I am elected this January, I intend to lead with this approach on day one. Nevadans can trust they will have a school member that leads with this different style of leadership.

What key indicators would you use to assess the performance of CCSD’s Superintendent? How would you hold the Superintendent accountable?

My background as a non-profit professional and public servant underscores the importance of utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data to assess the performance of CCSD’s top-ranking official.

Examples of some important quantitative key metrics would include: college and career results from our graduating students, student test scores (specifically math and reading), graduation rates, and employee morale (that should be captured on a regular basis). These quantitative key indicators paint a picture for elected and appointed Trustees to be able to provide suggestions, oversight, and input at the dias.

We have seen in past years that public trust and perception of the Superintendent is paramount. Having a Superintendent that Nevadans can trust and turn to will be important, along with their clear qualifications, experience, and style of leadership. I would assess how the education, non-profit, government, and business community feels about this Superintendent, and include that in my regular qualitative assessments.

I would hold the Superintendent accountable by being a stern Trustee that helps them set goals, set professional standards, and help them obtain a commitment from their staff around them to accomplish robust plans for our students.

The Superintendent is the one employee that the CCSD Board of Trustees oversee. Their performance is critical in influencing and directing other employees in the district to educate our children and support our teachers. Further, I will hold the Superintendent accountable by painting a clear picture of their performance: their obligation to the job, their ownership to get goals done, and the intention and impact their decisions will have on the district. These methods of holding the Superintendent accountable will assist in getting us the outcomes Southern Nevada desperately needs.

In a recent survey, 77% of Nevada residents agreed that parents should be able to send their children to the public school they feel is best for their child, even if it is outside of their neighborhood. Do you agree? Please explain your reasoning.

I am not afraid to say that I am one of the 77% that agrees that children should be able to go to a school outside of their neighborhood. My reasoning includes my real-life experience. I went to school in East Las Vegas and was zoned to attend Las Vegas High School. Although I would have been comfortable with my middle school friends, my academic advisors and teachers were persistent that I apply to an International Baccalaureate school with my passion, grit, and curiosity as a student to learn about international politics and diplomacy.

My mother, a CCSD teacher, and I applied to Valley High School – which was nearly 8 miles away from my home, and not zoned anywhere near my household. I applied, and chose to attend that magnet program. That specific public school was best for my learning, and for my academic curiosity. It was rigorous, challenged me, and pushed me to be more self-determined and achieve my academic goals.

A majority of Nevada residents believe that students should be able to choose a school that best fits their children. I firmly believe that Nevada’s children should have access to the best, high-quality education that best suits them. Nobody should get in their way.

The following question was submitted by a current public high school student: How will you ensure students are put at the forefront of the decision making process as a member of the Board of Trustees, and what accountability measures would you put in place to make sure this happens? 

First, let me say I am grateful to Opportunity 180 for including student input, especially from our up-and-coming voters and future leaders.

Second, as one of the youngest candidates on the ballot in Nevada, I will ensure that my fellow youth, our students, are at the forefront of the decision making process as a Member of the Board of Trustees this January.

Along with leveraging the power of our education union, our SOT’s (school organizational teams), PTA’s (parent teacher associations), and additional groups, I will be creating a District A task force that encompasses youth leaders from different parts of the district that are currently enrolled in CCSD. An example includes having youth leaders from Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Searchlight, and Laughlin. I will convene this group at the start of every month, and ensure that meetings are accessible and our discussions are public.

Third, I greatly value youth input when it comes to decision making. During my time as a staff member at the City of Las Vegas’s Mayor and City Council, I was steadfast in hearing from constituents under the age of 25 in the city jurisdiction. Some accountability measures I would put into place are creating surveys that CCSD students will provide valuable input on several topics across the school year.

Fourth, my government experience lends me to being a careful steward of our tax dollars. I look forward to sharing CCSD’s budgets and expenditures with youth who are enrolled in CCSD, and hearing their input through our task forces and through our surveys on where tax dollars are being allocated in fiscal budgets, and being spent. I will do the same with our business community, non-profit community, and education community to collect this input. Our budgets are a reflection of our values. I intend to be a Trustee that honors our parents and our students, and the dollars that are being allocated to our district. This January, I will be a Trustee that utilizes our students in the decision making process, and will ask the public and my stakeholders to hold me accountable to ensure transparency and rigorous outreach to those across District A.

Thank you for your time in reading my responses, and I hope to earn your vote. If you do not live in District A, or are unable to vote, I hope to earn your kind support in my race. Please visit VoteCatarata.com and sign up for our updates.