Educational background: 

·        South Gate High School, South Gate, CA

        (in Los Angeles, adjacent to Lynwood & Watts)

·         Undergraduate Degree:  University of California, at Berkeley, A.B. degree, majored in Sociology

·         Paralegal Certificate:  University of California, at Irvine

·         Law degree:  JD, Western State University, at Fullerton

Brief professional history not including civic experience:

I practiced business litigation in Newport Beach, CA, prior to moving to Alameda in 1998, after my husband was transferred to the Bay Area.  Since that time, I have provided legal services, primarily pro bono, to non-profits.  But the bulk of my outside efforts have been focused as a volunteer for the Alameda Schools.  I worked as a noon supervisor at Earhart Elementary and then as a substitute teacher.  In the past seven years, I have substituted at virtually all of the schools in Alameda Unified (i.e., all elementary and middle schools, Alameda High, Island High and Alameda Community Learning Center) and have served as a long term substitute teacher, teaching elementary school, English Language Learners, and Special Day Class for Special Needs students.