Board Member — Conejo Valley Unified School District

Jenny is a mom of two children currently attending school in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Herself a product of the California public school system, she experienced the power of community engagement and advocacy for the first time during a project in her high school civics class. Jenny put herself through college and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science. She then earned her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and is currently an in-house corporate business counseling attorney in the Conejo Valley.

Through her prior work as a litigation attorney and an attorney for the California Department of Managed Health Care, Jenny has extensive experience with legislation and advocacy. She also interned in the district office of former State Senator (current State Superintendent of Public Instruction) Tom Torlakson and in the Capitol office of a former State Assemblymember. She previously served as the Student Trustee for the Contra Costa Community College Board. Additionally, Jenny was also the Vice-Chair of the General Plan Update Task Force for the city of Martinez, which was charged with preparing and adopting a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the city.

Jenny frequently volunteers as team parent of her children's baseball and soccer teams, is the treasurer for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, assists in school classroom and extracurricular activities, and participates in local community service activities.

Jenny is running for a seat on the CVUSD School Board to provide a voice for change and to refocus the Board’s efforts on our children’s welfare and academic needs. She believes the School Board needs leadership that seeks to create engaging and empowering academic environments for the students it serves, ensures true transparency in its policy development and decision-making, and promotes fiscal responsibility and spending focused on improving the quality of education for our students. Jenny is also a strong advocate for ensuring the Board represents the interests of ALL students.

As a mom of two young children that attend district schools, Jenny is concerned about the dysfunction on our board and its impact on our children's learning environment. As an attorney, her job is to advocate for her client, negotiate successfully, and forge consensus among opposing viewpoints on complex problems. Jenny plans to combine her concerns as a parent with her skills as an attorney to achieve positive change on the school board, and to advocate and help deliver on the promising futures we all want for our kids.

As a former CVUSD English teacher, coach and parent of a current CVUSD student, I've seen the incredible power of a first-rate education.  Our top quality schools greatly enhance the ability of our kids to discover their strengths and passions on their way to becoming capable, happy adults.  

I am running for School Board because I have a genuine passion for learning, children and community leadership.  I believe the School Board should be answerable to taxpayers.  And while our teachers, coaches, administrators, and contract staff are valuable contributors that should be cherished, the School Board isn't a rubber stamp that should just "trust the experts".  The School Board has a responsibility to ensure money is being spent wisely, that ours schools are safe, that our children receive the best education possible, and that the tough questions have transparent answers.

Since 2001, our family has been blessed to live in the Conejo Valley. I have enjoyed giving back by serving on local boards and appointed positions for both CVUSD and the City of Thousand Oaks.

Who is nineteen-year resident of Thousand Oaks Patrissha Rose Booker?  If you don’t know her you are going to have an opportunity to get to know her in the weeks and months to come, because she is seeking a seat on the troubled CVUSD Governing Board, but for now here is a sneak preview.

Patrissha Rose Booker is a former military brat who experienced a diversity of environments, people, and cultures; which have given her the skills to bring people to the table, to break bread, discover common ground, and unite.  She believes these are the steps that need to be taken to bring CVUSD Governing Board’s focus back to the students and she wants to be given the chance to do so.

My poliltical philosophy is that I am disillusioned with all that is political.