Candidates for Board of Education

My occupation is: School Board Vice-President

My qualifications are:
I am a San Francisco School District educator who taught high school social studies for 10 years before serving as the principal of June Jordan School for Equity for 10 years.

I am the only person running who has dedicated their professional life to teaching and education.

I have the support of thousands of parents, teachers, and educators because I’m only committed to making our schools better for all students and families, and will not use the board as a stepping-stone for political office.

I was the first candidate endorsed by our Teachers’ Union, and am honored by the support of educators across the city who want to keep an experienced and effective leader on the board who understands the ins and outs of the district.

Examples of these supporters include: 

United Educators of San Francisco

Mark Sanchez, Elementary School Teacher, former SF School Board President 

Brian Delapena, Mathematics Teacher, Lincoln High School 

Roque Baron, Latín American Teachers Association President 

Tina Leung, Speech Pathologist, Gordon J. Lau Elementary School 

Nick Chandler, Social Worker, Buena Vista Horace Mann School 

Chun Li, Family Liaison, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School 

Diana Momiye Mueller, Paraeducator, Burton High School 

Karina Cervantes, Family Liaison, Sanchez Elementary School 

Darren Kawaii, Principal, Rooftop K-8 School 

Maya Baker, Principal, Visitacion Valley Middle School 

Amanda Chui, Principal, June Jordan High School 

Ben Wong, Executive Director, Wah Mei Preschool 

Diane Gray, Executive Director, 100% College Prep 

Dawn Stueckle, Executive Director, Sunset Youth Services

Alysse Castro, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools 

Mark Sanchez, Elementary School Teacher, former SF School Board President

Matt Alexander 

www.mattalexandersf.org

My occupation is: CEO.

My qualifications are:
Experience matters on the School Board, and I bring 35 years of experience in solving problems collaboratively and getting things done. This is what I do every day as CEO of a SF healthcare company with 500+ employees. Managing $1B budgets is not foreign to me. In fact, I have worked for Fortune 100 companies in six continents (speak English, French, Chinese), headed up regions and businesses, and collaborated with all types of groups to achieve financial and operational results. Having been CEO multiple times gives me the unique ability to turnaround businesses, which is what is needed given the fiscal crisis at SFUSD. I know how to grow revenues along with reducing costs. I believe strongly in education as a mother and product of public schools myself. I hold two bachelor’s degrees from Penn, two master’s from MIT and Johns Hopkins and a doctorate from Johns Hopkins. The Board needs the experience I bring to grow our schools, not close them, and bring families back to public schools as well as to push for a stronger curriculum by bringing back core subjects: math, science, languages, and the arts. Join me to make good education a right for our children. 

Min Chang

My occupation is Non Profit Educator / Mother.

My qualifications are:
On my first day of school, I waited alone and scared at the bus stop. I didn't speak English. I knew no one. 

My transition to public school was difficult. Luckily, I had an amazing Kindergarten teacher who set me on course to be the first person in my family to graduate college.

I want the same encouragement for all San Francisco children - nobody should not have to rely on luck to get help.

We must prioritize early intervention, support teachers, fight for equity, restore fiscal accountability, and prepare students for lifelong success.

For over 7 years, I directed policy and advocacy efforts at Wu Yee Children's Services where I worked to usher in reforms to help San Francisco's children and families.

But most importantly, I am the single mother of a 3rd grader.

Every child deserves access to early intervention, excellent schools, and the opportunity to succeed. I will work to make this a reality.

I'm supported by: 

Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club 

Phil Ting, Assemblymember 

London Breed, Mayor 

Aaron Peskin, Supervisor 

Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor 

Shamann Walton, Supervisor 

Ahsha Safaí, Supervisor 

Jenny Lam, School Board 

Mark Sanchez, School Board 

Alan Wong, President, CCSF Board of Trustees 

Norman Yee, Fmr. President, SF Board of Supervisors 

Sandra Lee Fewer, Fmr. Supervisor 

Gordon Mar, Fmr. Supervisor 

Eric Mar, Fmr. Supervisor 

Emily Murase, PhD, Fmr. School Board 

www.virginiacheung.com

Virginia Cheung

My occupation is: Engineer & Educator.

My qualifications are:
I have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, a master’s degree in education, and I owned and operated a school in Belmont, CA for eight years. I speak English, Japanese and Greek. In addition to my experience in the education sector, I have worked as an engineer in the automotive industry in Japan and North America, and have also worked in sales, marketing, and business development in Silicon Valley, where I managed multi-million dollar accounts for Fortune 100 companies. Therefore, I am in a unique position where l understand how to acquire the skills to be successful in the workplace, and how to teach these skills to children. I understand how to balance large, complicated budgets, pay staff, hire and train employees, develop lesson plans and curriculums, and communicate effectively with end-users and stakeholders, such as customers, parents, teachers, and students. I enjoy what l do and take responsibility for my actions and the results they produce, whether it is meeting the price and scheduling demands of customers purchasing components for laptops and smartphones, paying staff on time, or ensuring that the voice of parents and students of all ages and experience levels is heard and their educational goals are met.

Lefteris Eleftheriou

My occupation is Affordable Housing Director / Parent.

My qualifications are:
I have a daughter attending our school district and our kids’ education means everything.

Education shaped my family’s history. My grandfather started the first women’s college in his region in India. My father navigated the British colonial system to attend a prestigious engineering school in India, which enabled him to come to America. My parents arrived with only $200 but put my education first and raised me in excellent public schools. I graduated with a Masters from Harvard University.

My whole career I’ve fought to uplift families:

• As a leader at Mercy Housing, the largest US affordable housing nonprofit, I fight to improve thousands of children’s lives to provide fresh starts.
• As School Site Council Chair and a member of the District Algebra Workgroup, I fought to improve all student outcomes including smaller classes, STEM curriculum, and additional tutoring for struggling students.

SFUSD has major challenges: a $421M budget deficit, school closures, and a state takeover.

I am a consensus candidate supported by:

• Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
• State Treasurer Fiona Ma
• Senator Scott Wiener
• Assemblymember Matt Haney
• United Educators of San Francisco
• SF Parent Action
• Mayor London Breed
• Former-Mayor Mark Farrell
• Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio, Rafael Mandelman, Myrna Melgar, Connie Chan
• Board of Education Commissioner Jenny Lam
• Former-Democratic Party Chair Honey Mahogany
• TogetherSF
• GrowSF
• Asian-Americans Rise
• Former-SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews

www.paraggupta.org

Parag Gupta

My occupation is School Principal.

My qualifications are:
Students and parents deserve an experienced commissioner to fight for them. I will focus on education and not politics; I’ve pledged to tell the truth, be transparent, and not use this position as a steppingstone to higher office. I commit to serving all students, involving parents and practicing the values I hold which include integrity, respect and service. I will collaborate with people from all walks of life and across the political spectrum.

My priorities: address SFUSD’s fiscal crisis to rebuild stability, retain and attract families to stop the financial hemorrhage, and retain and attract teachers to serve students' needs.

I am the principal and founder of a San Francisco non-profit K-8 school and an SFUSD parent. I am a former Board of Education Commissioner, CBOC Chair, Galileo PTSA President and Recall School Board leader. My financial and operations experience comes from founding and managing 3 companies over 18 years.

My endorsers include Matt Gonzalez, former Board of Supervisors President; Honorable Quentin Kopp, former Superior Court Judge and State Senator; John Rothmann, Voice of San Francisco and former KGO host; Lope Yap Jr, film producer and George Washington HS Alumni Board Member and Rex Ridgeway, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee 2024 Public Education Hero.

www.annforsfboe.com

Ann Hsu

My occupation is Deputy City Attorney.

My qualifications are:
I've watched in frustration as our school board became a national embarrassment. As a civil rights attorney with expertise solving complex government problems and the mom of a toddler and SFUSD second grader, I can't sit on the sidelines as we face school closures and a state takeover.

I'm the daughter of a conservative drill sergeant and working-class Latina who raised me with liberal Catholic values.

As the first woman in my mom's family to graduate college, I understand education's transformative power. That's why I've volunteered as a college coach, taught law students, and served as director of an education nonprofit in the Mission.

I've spent my career fighting for San Franciscans, and winning against long odds. From litigating for marriage equality, to suing the opioid industry, to taking the Trump administration to court to stop discrimination in healthcare.

I'm ready to fight for our kids! 

I'm proud to have endorsements across San Francisco's political spectrum, including:

SF Parent Action

United Educators of San Francisco

TogetherSF Action

GrowSF

Asian Americans Rise

State Senator Scott Wiener

Assemblymember Matt Haney

Mayor London Breed

Former Mayor Mark Farrell

Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Myrna Melgar, Rafael Mandelman, and Connie Chan

Former Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews

San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Jenny Lam... and more!

Join my fight at:

jaime4schoolboard.com

Jaime Huling

My occupation is Education Foundation Founder.

My qualifications are:
Public school math shaped my family.

My mom grew up in poverty, but a love of math landed her a bank job, and a way out.

My dad was raised by a single mother battling mental illness. But his talent at math led him to open a small CPA business.

As a math-y public school kid, I learned to code. I loved staying up late writing computer games to share with friends. After studying Computer Science at Stanford, I started a company in a storage closet writing algorithms to match people to jobs. LinkedIn bought the company and asked me to lead their core business. I was suddenly a math kid leading an organization of thousands, with a multi-billion dollar budget.

Having kids changed everything. In 2019, I started an education foundation. Now, I want to use my experience to help kids in our schools.

I’m endorsed by our teachers union and leaders across the political spectrum because they know I can fight our schools’ financial crisis.

Endorsements:

Mayor London Breed

Former Mayor Mark Farrell

Teacher’s union: United Educators of San Francisco

GrowSF

TogetherSF Action

Asian Americans Rise

State Senator Scott Wiener

State Assemblymember Matt Haney

Supervisor Joel Engardio

Supervisor Rafael Mandleman

Supervisor Connie Chan

Supervisor Matt Dorsey

City College Board President Alan Wong

Former San Francisco Democratic Party Chair, Honey Mahogany

John Jersin

My occupation is College Student.

My qualifications are:
I'm a 19-year-old CCSF freshman who is passionate about making San Francisco's public schools safe, clean, and great learning environments for everyone.

I recently graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. During my time there I experienced a year of online school, then the years afterward, when teachers were striking and many left the profession altogether. I saw firsthand how much inaction from the Board of Education hurts our schools and I want those days to end. Especially in this time of budget crisis, we need to encourage teachers and administrators to speak honestly about the problems they face—and we all need to work together creatively to solve them.

I also want to be a voice for LGBT students, students with learning differences and other challenges, and really, all students. As a young person who just left high school I believe I have a unique perspective. Kids today don't think public officials care about their needs. Lots of students don't bother discussing school issues with adults because they assume nothing will change. I'm not an expert on SFUSD issues yet, but I'll work hard to learn, and get people thinking differently about our schools, our leaders, and our amazing city.

Maddy Krantz

My occupation is Small Business Owner.

My qualifications are:
If you VOTED to RECALL the SCHOOL BOARD, if you VOTED to BRING BACK ALGEBRA, THEN YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR ME!

I collected hundreds of recall signatures. I worked to get the algebra ballot measure to pass. I am now running for school board to have a better run school district!

I am a San Francisco K-12 public school graduate— Argonne, Presidio, and Lowell.

Our students deserve a great public school system like I experienced. I owe much to my seventh grade algebra teacher, my high school counselor, and many others. My SFUSD education prepared me for Harvard and a great career in biotech.

I'm the ONLY candidate who:

• Restored oversight of $744 million in bond funds,
• Supported educators from Day One during the EmPower payroll protest,
• Helped create the Asian American Parents Advisory Committee,
• Supported the students' rally for safer schools,
• Pushed for proven methods to bring all kids to grade-level reading.

My top priorities are to balance the budget and improve student outcomes.

Vote for the SFUSD graduate, Laurance Lem Lee.

Endorsed by:

SF Guardians

Fiona Ma, State Treasurer

Dr. Emily Murase, former President, Board of Education

Eddie Chin, former Commissioner, Board of Education

www.leeforsfschoolboard.com

Laurance Lee

My occupation is Attorney / Parent Organizer.

My qualifications are:
I'm a parent of two SFUSD kids and an attorney/writer who has worked with families across San Francisco over the past four years to reopen and improve our schools.

Our city’s future depends on strong public schools to help all students reach their full potential. Growing up in a turbulent atmosphere, I had schools for my safe haven. My teachers provided critical support. I'm committed to doing all we can to prepare our youth for thriving lives.

My priorities include:

• Providing quality education, including Lowell academics, 8th grade Algebra, high-impact tutoring, and better literacy instruction
• Ensuring schools are safe — from bullying, violence, campus disturbances, and environmental hazards
• Supporting students, families, and teachers most affected by school closures
• Restoring trust in SFUSD through transparency, accountability, and program and budget decisions tied to better student outcomes

My supporters have a variety of perspectives and are united behind improving our schools:

SF Parent Action

SF Guardians

GrowSF

TogetherSF Action

Senator Scott Wiener

Assemblymember Phil Ting

Supervisor Joel Engardio

BART Director Bevan Dufty

Former Supervisor Matt Gonzalez

DCCC Members Lily Ho & Cedric Akbar

Former Youth Commission Chair Ewan Barker Plummer

Carol Kocivar

John Trasviña

John Rothmann

I ask for your vote. Join us at RayForBOE.com!

Supryia Ray