Board of Directors Election: Meet the Candidates
CITE's Board of Directors, in accordance with our Articles on Incorporation and Bylaws, contains 12 members. Each member serves 3 year terms with one possible renewal for a total of six years. This means we will typically have at least one open seat each year. The term limits are new and some of the current Board members were elected prior to the term limits being enacted by the membership voting on a bylaw change. So, the number of seats will vary over the next few years as these Board members cycles through their terms.
This year, we do have one open seat and three very well qualified candidates. I am exCITEd to share their candidate statements with you all. The election will begin on September 25, 2023 and end on November 3, 2023. Only Educational and Retired members are eligible to vote as per our bylaws.
Tam Nguyen
Tam Nguyen is the Chief Technology Officer at the Orange Unified School District in Southern California. Here is his statement:
Starting as a student worker in a K-12 school district technology department at the age of 17, I have grown through my carious roles up to Chief Technology Officer at Orange USD. While I am by no means a rage with decades of experience (only two), I do have a relevant and recent experience in building great networks, empowering IT professionals, and creating a CTO role in my district. I believe we all have equally critical but different roles in an IT department and school district. My personal mission is to empower IT staff, and our students by individually investing in their happiness and success through leveraging technology.
Tony Ramirez
Tony Ramirez is the Chief Technology Officer at the Santa Barbara Unified School District in Southern California. Here is his statement:
For the past 20 years, I've had the privilege of serving students and teachers in various capacities for several organizations throughout Southern California. My progression from a tech role to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) has granted me the opportunity to collaborate with some of the brightest individuals and mentors spanning higher education, the private sector, and public institutions. As I aspire to represent all CITE members, I bring forth my diverse experiences, triumphs, lessons learned, and above all, an unwavering passion for enhancing the quality of education. My guiding principle is pretty straightforward: to make school better. I pledge to support and elevate CITE's mission to lead, nurture, and assist both the organization and its valued members. I am devoted to showing up daily and listening keenly to the needs of the broader educational community. CITE has been an invaluable catalyst for my own personal and professional evolution, and I am eager to serve as a stepping stone for others who are ready to take their next steps.
Chris Womack
Chris Womack is the Senior Director of Information Technology at the Placer County Office of Education in Northern California. Here is his statement:
I am a true story for the success of CITE and its amazing opportunities. As a graduate of the CTOM program I can say with confidence that my success as an IT Director is due in part to this program. I have much respect for the past and present leaders of the CITE organization and am very proud to be a long standing member. In my life I have followed a traditional working path: I worked as a kid, joined the military after completing high school, and then worked 24 years in the Information Technology field. I worked in corporate entities, private companies and also consulted on my own for many years. I can honestly say that when I joined up with the K12 workforce 13 years ago I finally found my calling. I am very proud of what I do on a daily basis and I am even more proud of the team I lead at the Placer County Office of Education. I understand the importance of what we do to provide reliable and secure internet access, reliable computing devices and access to assistive technologies to the students of our county. This is the reason I appreciate the work that the CITE organization has done for years. I would be honored to be a part of the CITE board and do my best to continue supporting the Ed Tech and IT professionals who provide exceptional support to the students, teachers and staff of K12 education entities across this great state.