SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Sue Burr, 63, of Rancho Murieta, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Education, where she has served as a member since 2013 and served as executive director from 2011 to 2012. Burr was executive director of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association from 2006 to 2011, where she was governmental relations director from 2003 to 2006. She was assistant superintendent for business services for the Elk Grove Unified School District from 2000 to 2003 and served as undersecretary of education in the Office of the Governor from 1999 to 2000, where she was interim secretary of education in 2000. Burr was co-director at the California State University Institute for Education Reform from 1995 to 1999. She was a principal consultant for the California State Senate Education Committee from 1991 to 1994 and for the California State Senate Appropriations Committee from 1986 to 1991. Burr earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Burr is a Democrat.
Jaden Gray, 17, of Union City, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. Gray has been an intern clerk in the Law Offices of John L. Burris since 2016 and a student at James Logan High School since 2015. He is chair of the Union City Youth Commission, a founding member of the James Logan High School Young Democrats Club and a member of the California Association of Students Councils, New Haven Unified School District Board of Education and the James Logan High School Speech and Debate Team. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gray is not registered to vote.
Ilene Straus, 67, of Marina del Rey, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Education, where she has served since 2011. Straus has been a part-time faculty member in the education doctoral program at the University of California, Los Angeles since 2013, where she was part-time faculty and professor for the education master’s program from 2005 to 2007. She has been an independent consultant for student achievement issues since 2011. Straus was an assistant superintendent for educational services for the Beverly Hills Unified School District from 2006 to 2011. She served in several positions for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District from 1986 to 2006, including senior director of secondary education, chief educational officer and principal at Santa Monica High School and at Lincoln Middle School. Straus was adjunct faculty at the University of Southern California in 2005. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts degree in educational administration from California State University, Northridge. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Straus is a Democrat.
Karen Valdes, 57, of Temecula, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. Valdes has been assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Menifee Union School District since 2006. She was regional director for the Riverside County Office of Education from 2004 to 2006, where she was coordinator for instructional support from 1999 to 2004. Valdes was mentor teacher for the Temecula Valley Unified School District from 1989 to 1999 and for the Lennox Elementary School District from 1981 to 1986. She was master teacher for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District from 1986 to 1987 and for the Lennox Elementary School District from 1987 to 1989. Valdes is president of the Association of California School Administrators, Region XIX and a member of the California Practitioners Advisory Group, California Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Menifee Valley Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors and the Riverside County Office of Education’s Legislative Advisory Committee and Accountability Work Group. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership from Argosy University and a Master of Arts degree in educational leadership from Loyola Marymount University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Valdes is a Democrat.