Welcome to 2020! I am honored to be the President of the California County Boards of Education for 2020. I would first like to thank 2019 President Dana Dean for her leadership and guidance this past year and making sure that CCBE and CSBA voices were heard in Sacramento. Also, everyone on the Executive Board and Board of Directors, through your hard work, we have set high standards and goals for this coming year.
This year, I look forward to working with the CCBE leadership team and all of you as we continue to strengthen our partnership with CSBA and elected officials in Sacramento. We will continue to be the voice of the 6.2 million students that we all serve.
President Janet Wohlgemuth has served on the Monterey County Office of Education Board since being elected in November 2015. Wohlgemuth just finished serving as the board president and has been a CCBE Delegate since 2016. She has previously served as Vice President and President-elect of CCBE. Born and raised in Monterey County, Wohlgemuth attended local schools and received her degree in fire science from Hartnell Community College. For more than 25 years, she has worked with young adults ages 18-25 for the California Conservation Corps, teaching emergency response such as fighting fires, floods and earthquakes, as well as working outdoors to improve natural resources. Building a strong community is one of her biggest priorities.
President-elect Rick Shea has served on the San Diego County Board of Education since 2015, including as vice president in 2016 and president in 2017. Outside of his board duties, he retired as special assistant to the county superintendent/administrative services officer. Shea previously worked as a classroom teacher, head teacher for the Juvenile Court Schools and school administrator for the Outdoor Science Schools. He is an active member of his community and served as mayor, deputy mayor and councilmember in Encinitas, as well as on several other municipal and utility boards. Shea also served as a probation officer in San Diego County, where he has lived most of his life.
Vice President Amber Childress was elected to the Alameda County Board of Education in 2016 and makes her professional living as a marketing entrepreneur and community advocate. She was raised in Oakland and has spent the majority of her life in the East Bay, attending Oakland public schools and Mills College to study liberal studies. The support Childress received in school and from her extended family taught her to embrace the idea that “it takes a village to raise a child.” She was the recipient of the 2016 Powerful Women of the Bay Innovator Award for her dedication to the community.
Treasurer Matt Taylor is a trustee for the Yolo County Board of Education, representing the community of West Sacramento where he lives with his wife and three kids. Taylor was elected in 2014 and has served one term as president and several terms on the budget committee. He has spent most of the last 20 years working in public education, serving at both the local and state levels in the areas of finance, data, analytics, research and assessment. Taylor has earned master’s degrees in both public policy and in educational leadership. He currently attends William Howard Taft University as a doctoral student in educational leadership.
Director-at-Large, County, Bruce Dennis is a board member for the Riverside County Office of Education. He has served 20 years on school boards, with 13 years in the Nuview Union School District and the last six years in the Riverside COE. He has also served eight years on the Board of Directors of the Riverside County School Boards Association, including one term as president. Dennis has an extensive background in child advocacy and community service. He also served six years as a federal government relations chair for the National School Boards Association. Dennis is a postmaster for the United States Postal Service and was awarded the Postal Service’s Benjamin Award for community outreach activities.