Dieringer School District No. 343 ................................................................................................ 68

Kris Valencia

valenciakd@gmail.com

Elected Experience: This will be my first time running for an elected position.

Other Professional Experience: Director of Catering Services & Executive Chef, Compass Group at Microsoft; US Army Nutritional Health Specialist

Education: Art Institute of Seattle, AA Applied Arts, Culinary; Seattle University 2005-2006; US Army and US Army Reserve 2001-2008

Community Service: Spearheaded boxed lunch production to be donated to schools and outside programs to help communities and people in need; White River High School Technical Advisor for Culinary Arts department; BLS Little League Assistant Coach, 3 years

Statement: It is time for District 4 within the Dieringer School District to have new leadership. If elected, I promise to be a servant leader to our school district as well as our community of parents and students. I will lead with an open mind, a caring heart, and prioritize the needs of our students to have the best possible experience and education in our 3 amazing, award-winning schools.

Our community is growing steadily. More and more families from diverse backgrounds are calling the Lake Tapps community their home. It is essential that these families see that our School Board embraces this diversity through a reflection of their members. Having me as your District 4 School Board member will ensure that these families have a voice that can be heard.

Not only do I live in this community, but I’m also a parent of children that attend schools in this district. I want the opportunity to have deeper involvement with the district’s decision-making process as well as ensure the voice of our community and district in which I serve gets heard, acknowledged, and represented.

I will lead our District with integrity, trust, and compassion. Thank you for your vote.

Alyssa Anderson Pearson

(253) 961-2332 alyssa.cpsd@gmail.com

Elected Experience: Clover Park School Board, 2017 – Present; Current Vice President.

Other Professional Experience: Since receiving my MBA at age 23, I have been employed by an Information Technology company in Tacoma. I am currently its Carrier and Customer Relationship Manager. I also value the experience I gained working with the public in restaurant, outdoor outfitting and home mortgage businesses while I was working toward my degrees.

Education: BS in Business Administration, Northern Arizona University, 2012; MBA, Northern Arizona University, 2013

Community Service: Past member of Rotary and Junior League. I have also been a political campaign volunteer on various local and state level races.

Statement: I have been honored to serve on the Clover Park School Board for the past four years, focusing on contributing to student success. We have implemented sound fiscal policies, which helped greatly during the uncertainty of COVID-19. This also enabled construction of a state-of-the-art middle school without additional taxes or borrowing. Pivoting during the pandemic, we quickly issued laptops to each student and provided Wi-Fi access to those in need. The district also came up with a reliable food distribution plan and helped stand up childcare options for essential workers.

Clover Park Schools have improved communications to families and the community, which has greatly increased public transparency. The board also strengthened its relationship with the City Council, which has allowed us to build a greater bond with the community as a whole.

I pride myself on being reasonable and fair, bringing the additional perspective of an employed mother to the boardroom. I promise to remain accessible and listen to input from the public. I leave political agendas out of decision making. If you are looking for someone with extreme political views, I am probably not your candidate. I look forward to the opportunity to serve you for another four years.

Darwin Peters, II

(912) 492-5414 info@darwinforcpsd.com www.darwinforcpsd.com

Elected Experience: None

Other Professional Experience: U.S. Army; The REACH Center; Lakewood YMCA

Education: Currently pursuing AA of Applied Science, Clover Park Technical College, Trauma-Informed Care Certified

Community Service: Coach & Mentor student athletes with King Cobras Track Club, and Paladin Knights Football Club. Member of Clover Park School District Parent Connection Council, Youth &Police Dialog Forums, Established Chick-fil-A Leader Academy in Tacoma Public School District, Supported & participated on several community panels for CPSD.

Statement: I am a coach, mentor, and active community member that has lived in Lakewood most of my life. I attended elementary – high school in this district and currently have four children attending multiple district schools. It is safe to say that my family and I are committed to the city and the district.

I believe that in addition to solid roots in the community, the Director that represents District No. 3 should be one that knows the history of our schools and has an invested interest in our districts current and future state for many years to come.

I am committed to working hard to ensure that every student in CPSD receives an education where they are successful. I plan to do this by listening to the voices of our students, teachers, and parents, while also staying committed to helping raise well rounded students that exemplify what it means to exhibit great character, be a lifelong learner, collaborator, and lead in action.

I will be a present ear to listen to you, and a loud voice to echo the needs of our children. Please allow me to work for you and your children by voting for me. Thank you!

Jeff Brown

(253) 606-8324 jeffrbrown70@gmail.com

Elected Experience: Glenwood Acre Neighborhood Association President

Other Professional Experience: Architect 41 years; Co-founder BCRA (Tacoma), Co-founder Creoworks (Seattle), Jeff Brown Architecture (Tacoma).

Education: BS Architectural Studies, Bachelor of Architecture, WSU

Community Service: Past: Member Narrows Rotary Club, Treasurer; Tacoma Pierce County Economic Development Board; Tacoma Pierce County; Chamber of Commerce Board, President; Lakewood Planning Advisory Board, Chair; American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow Board, President; Asia Pacific Cultural Center Board, President; Tacoma Art Museum Board; Pierce County Planning Commission, Vice Chair. Present: Pierce College Foundation Board, past President, treasurer

Statement: Our Public Schools are institutions chartered by the people of our local and greater communities for the purposes of imparting fundamental education for our children towards life skills and critical thinking. Our Public Schools are sanctioned by parents to reinforce their children with the familial values of love, respect, integrity, and positive self-esteem, while providing essential instruction in knowledge through which we speak, write, understand, analyze, invent, communicate, and debate.

Martin Luther King once said: “The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”

As a 35-year resident of the Lakewood area and the Clover Park School District with two Lakes High School Graduates, my commitment is to assure that the Clover Park School Board is once again a forum where all voices are heard through transparency and critical discussion resulting in sound, measured decisions. My commitment is to protect our children from special interest narratives, which detract our focus from fundamental education, and to hold the Clover Park Schools District accountable to the essentials of educating our children in the development of language, math, science, civics, and the arts.

All children are unique individuals with lives to be guarded and nurtured.

Arie J. Ham

ariejaneham@gmail.com

Elected Experience: None, this will be my first.

Other Professional Experience: Served over 16 years of customer service. Tacoma small business co-owner. Teachers’ assistant at First Presbyterian Preschool.

Education: Bachelors of Social Work from the University of Washington; Nursing at Pacific Lutheran University; Currently working on my Masters of Education in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Washington.

Community Service: Children’s department volunteer at Tacoma Central Presbyterian; working deacon at Tacoma Central Presbyterian; volunteer at Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank; classroom volunteer at First Presbyterian Preschool

Statement: I love our city, as a parent with a future student, my desire for our community is to advocate for our children’s well-being. The accessibility, resources and rigors of their education need to paramount not only for them but our community as well. My commitments would be to create an environment that empowers and supports while also considering the fact that we are now living in the new paradigm of the pandemic.

In this new paradigm, we must ensure that accessibility to a quality education is not a barrier. In these trying times it is essential that we are good stewards with every dollar that is spent on our education system.

Accessible learning is nothing without quality. That starts with redefining the term of a successful education. We must prepare them to be successful outside of the classroom whether that means higher education, trades or going straight into the workforce. This is what will be needed to achieve CPSD mission statement.

My goal and purpose will be to use all our resources to place every child in a position to succeed and to eliminate any barriers that hinder not only their success in the classroom while promoting an inclusive community.

Marty Schafer

(253) 213-3170 SchaferforSchools@gmail.com

Elected Experience: Dr. James “Marty” Schafer has served on the School Board since 2005

Other Professional Experience: Marty is a lifelong supporter of public education through developing people, curriculum and structures that increase the effectiveness of leadership. He builds on a background of educational experiences, management, military/government relationships and consulting.

Education: Marty holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from Western Washington University and a master’s and doctorate degree from Golden Gate Seminary in the field of Ministry and Leadership Studies.

Community Service: Founding member of Everyday Mentoring, B3 Foundation and CELT -Community Engagement Leadership Team (non-profit agencies committed to a culture of leadership for schools and communities).

Statement: It has never been more complicated nor more important to lead in education than now. The students in the Clover Park School District deserve to have the best educational opportunity to prepare for their futures. In my tenure on the Board, we have increased the overall rigor and added program opportunities to reach out to every child. We have full time kindergarten in all 16 elementary schools. We were the first district in the state of Washington to have a full International Baccalaureate program (thanks go out to our partnership with Lakewood Rotary). We have expanded Career and Technical offerings. Our graduation rates have increased to 89%. As Board President, we were WSSDA School Board of the Year in 2019 and School Board of Distinction 5 times. We have remained financially responsible, allowing us to replace 10 aging schools while minimizing the needs for bonds and taxes from our community.

It has been my honor to support our military families, collaborate with the city council of Lakewood and serve in this diverse and amazing city! My focus has always been on student success and the power of education to prepare all of our students for life. We are Better Together!