Questions & Answers

What is the importance of District #116 School Board to your constituents?

Social and Racial Justice. We believe that a community like Urbana could be the model of equitable schooling which honors each child and their cultural heritage, and works diligently to create an environment which nurtures our children into being healthy community members of a democracy.

Why are you qualified to be on the School Board?

I have been PTA board member (vice-president Leal), local organizer, advocate for equity and one of the leaders for the ”Cena y Ciencias” program that brings science in Spanish to the Latino students in the district. I am also a scientist and a academic. I am a Research Professor of Astronomy and a Research Scientist at NCSA at the University of Illinois. I work on Observational Cosmology and building the next generation of surveys is astronomy. I plan to bring the critical thinking, skepticism, patience and collaborative work that I use everyday as scientist into the board.

If elected, what is something you want to accomplish on the School Board, and how long will it take?

Karie Brown-Tess (D-4) and I have developed a platform that includes input from our community and seeks to open a dialogue to make the board more transparent, engaged and fair to all groups in our community. It has three pillars: 1) Social and Racial Justice, 2) Accountability and 3) Transparency. Visit my website for more details on our platform.

Is there anything else you would like to say to an undecided voter?

The school board has acted as a private board on many levels for too many years. School Board Members have been silent in crucial decisions. I pledge to push our board members to openly and appropriately express their agreement or dissent in decision-making.