DR. CHRISTINA KISHIMOTO | OCTOBER 2023
Welcome to the October edition of The Stories We Tell! This month there is so much I am excited to be sharing – from Hispanic Heritage Month, to a powerful conversation with Dr. Zandra Jo Galvan, and the opening of registration for When Women Lead 2024!
Let me start by introducing you to our feature, Dr. Zandra Jo Galvan, Superintendent of Greenfield Union, a K-8 school district in Bakersfield, California. If you are involved with professional organizations like ALAS, CALSA or AASA, it is more likely than not that you have met or heard Zandra speaking on panels, as a session participant or as a convener of a variety of affinity groups. Zandra is a passionate equity-oriented leader that constantly shares best practices, her learnings, and her wonderings. I sat down with Zandra to ask her specifically about how she is managing a competitive doctoral program at the University of Southern California while leading in the top seat in her district (among many other things like family, community engagement and professional associations!). You will learn in this interview how much more we covered in our conversation about leadership, remaining stubbornly student-centered, and the joy of networks that lead to deep friendships.
In this edition, I also share my perspective on Hispanic Heritage Month. While this celebratory opportunity to learn and share about the multifaceted contributions of Hispanic people to the United States is important, there are undercurrents of our nation’s history that cause us pause as we consider both our past and our way forward in honoring all people of this nation.
There are so many celebrations for Voice4Equity this month. Our inaugural board of advisors has been formed with ten Superintendents representing their region of the country and bringing important thought leadership to a by-women-for-women leadership organization. We also have our fall Women Superintendent Policy Leadership Academy (WSPLA) well underway, and coming together in person at the national ALAS conference in San Antonio – thank you to Dr. Maria Armstrong for this great partnership! Applications are open for our winter WSPLA, which starts in December! And of course, we have just opened registrations for When Women Lead 2024 where 250 leading women dedicated to policy, equity and innovations will convene on the beautiful Vancouver, Washington waterfront from June 20-22, 2024. This is certainly a not-to-miss networking opportunity.
As this year’s Hispanic Heritage theme says, todos somos, somos unos. Voice4Equity is proud to celebrate and give voice to our Latinx family.
Abrazos!
Christina
