Why I'm Running for Trustee
For 40 years, I have taught history at Glendale Community College. As a historian, I have spent my career helping students understand where we came from, how we got here, and that the choices we make today shape the future.
But the most important parts of my life have always extended beyond the classroom. I am a husband, a father, and a longtime Thousand Oaks resident. My wife and I have built our life and raised our family here, and after 19 years, Ventura County is more than where we live. It is our home.
That is why I am running for Trustee of the Ventura County Community College District.
I want the next generation of Ventura County families to have access to the same kind of opportunity I have spent my career helping provide: an affordable, high-quality education close to home and a chance to build a better future.
My experience in community colleges extends well beyond teaching. I have led college departments and worked alongside faculty, staff, students and administrators to solve problems, manage resources, support students, and build strong academic programs. I understand our colleges from the classroom and the leadership perspective.
Most importantly, I have seen what community colleges make possible. I have taught students who were the first in their families to attend college, students preparing to transfer to a university, students learning a trade or preparing for a career, and adults returning to school to create new opportunities for themselves and their families.
Our responsibility is to make sure those doors remain open.
Here in Ventura County, Moorpark, Oxnard, and Ventura colleges are essential public institutions. As our communities and economy change, our colleges must be prepared to meet the moment while remaining affordable, accessible, and focused on student success.
As a Trustee, I will dedicate myself to ensuring that our Ventura County community colleges:
- Keep college affordable and accessible.
- Prepare students for a changing economy.
- Support excellent faculty and staff.
- Protect safe and welcoming campuses.
- Strengthen the connection between our colleges and the communities they serve.
Teaching history has taught me that strong public institutions do not sustain themselves. Each generation has a responsibility to protect them, improve them, and prepare them for those who come next.
After a career devoted to community college students, I am ready to take on that responsibility in a new way.
It is time to put that experience to work for the community my family and I call home.
