President- Mary Janzen
Mary Janzen received an M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from Fresno Pacific University. She taught world geography for five years before taking a position as a H-SS Consultant at Fresno County Office of Education. She worked with two Teaching American History Grants and coordinated Fresno County History Day, a teacher on special assignment focusing on Common Core State Standards - History/Social Studies, and training secondary history/social studies teachers in Common Core strategies and using the C3 Framework in their classrooms. Currently she teaches AP European History and Modern World History at Duncan Polytechnical High School in FUSD. Mary is an active member of the San Joaquin Valley Council for the Social Studies and a Board Member for the National Social Studies Supervisors Association.
Michelle Herczog, Consultant III, History-Social Science at the Los Angeles County Office of Education serves on the Power of Democracy Committee led by California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, the iCivics Advisory Board, and Advisory Committee on Public Education for the American Bar Association. Dr. Herczog served as Vice-Chair of the California Instructional Quality Commission, President of National Council for the Social Studies, and helped develop the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards as a member of the Social Studies Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction Committee of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
First VP - Dawniell Black
Northern Area VP - Janet Mann
Central Area VP - Brinkley Abercrombie
Brinkley is a middle school history teacher in Fresno, California. She is currently one of two regional directors serving Region 7, and is the current president of the San Joaquin Council for the Social Studies. Through her experience on the Board of Directors this past year, she has observed the dedication and necessary and important presence our state council has in making sure history education maintains its relevance, especially as the History-Social Science framework makes its way through the state legislature. With new and exciting steps in history education on the horizon, she looks forward to continuing to represent Region 7.
Southern Area VP - Rebecca Valbuena
Rebecca Valbuena, M.Ed., began teaching in South America and currently works in the Glendora Unified School District. For the past three summers, she co-directs a teacher institute at the Autry National Center. A California History-Social Science Project fellow of UC Berkeley and CSU Dominguez Hills, Rebecca continues work as a teacher leader at the Dominguez Hills site. Rebecca co-directed a Multilingual Institute and taught for UCLA Extension assisting teachers with effective instructional strategies for English Learners. She currently teaches a History Methods class at CSU Dominguez Hills. Valbuena has served as a model teacher for Levstik & Barton’s book Doing History and as a model Common Core teacher in videos for the California Department of Education and LACOE. As the past President of SCSSA, she continues to lead the activities of Region 11. She is a past recipient of the California Council for the Social Studies Outstanding Elementary Teacher Award, a Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year, and a YWCA Woman of Achievement.
Past President - Natalie Wojinski
Natalie has been teaching elementary, middle, and high school for more than 25 years. She is currently teaching Modern World History and AP U.S. Government and Politics in the Central Valley. Previously, Natalie managed a Teaching American History Grant, served as a Program Assistant for Secondary History/Social Studies, and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area. In her work with CCSS and the California Geographic Alliance, Natalie has advocated for History/Social Studies education in Sacramento and on Capitol Hill. She has been recognized as a Teacher of Excellence and Teacher of the Year. She has B.A.s in Journalism, Social Science, and History. Additionally, she earned a M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning. Natalie is a National Geographic Certified Educator, a Leading Edge Certified teacher for Online and Blended Learning, and a Google Certified Innovator.
Region 1: Molly Snider (1-year)
Bio Coming Soon.
Region 2: Cricket Kidwell (one 2-year seat)
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Cricket is an Education Consultant and Curriculum Specialist and an instructor at California State University, Chico in the School of Education. She has served in public education for over 30 years in the classroom and as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction at the county level. Dr. Kidwell currently serves on the Board of Directors of CCSS and is Chair of the Governmental Relations Committee. She is a Board Member of KIXE, public television (PBS) for California's north state. She is actively involved in state and national organizations and has facilitated numerous committees and projects in civic education, 21st century skills, curriculum development, assessment, project-based learning, and rural education. She has authored numerous articles and papers. In all of her efforts, student success, student engagement, and academic growth has been her goal and aspiration. She is an advocate of high-quality and effective education at all levels.
Region 3: Frank Pisi (two 1-year seats)
Director of History-Social Science at the Sacramento County Office of Education. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from California State University, Sacramento and a Master’s degree in Teaching History from Occidental College, where he specialized in student –centered curriculum development. Currently Frank directs SCOE’s History-Social Science efforts, designed to bring cross-curricular teams of middle and high school teachers together to engage their students in service projects around youth-identified issues or concerns. Frank is working towards a vision where civic engagement and responsibility is taught across the entire curriculum, forming the context for learning.
Region 3: Kara Lofthouse (1-year)
Bio Coming Soon
Region 4 Representative - Ayisha Benham
Ayisha teaches at Sylvester Greenwood Academy, a high school in the West Contra Costa School Unified District. Ayisha is an AVID trained teacher. Her teaching style is holistically focused on college admissions but also on developing civic readiness and independent life skills. Ayisha is also the editor of the CCSS Sunburst newsletter.
Milton’s background includes such varied and divergent experiences as being a youth counselor, middle school teacher, service-learning coordinator, tour guide, stand up comedian, and a research associate at U.C. Berkeley and most recently at Stanford University participating in the Stanford Integrated Schools Project. Milton received his B.A. with distinction in Sociology from San Jose State with a minor in Communications.
Region 5 (one year) - Pamela Harter
Pamela Harter is a product of the California Public School system, where she now teaches. Originally from Sacramento, CA, and graduating from Sacramento State University, Pamela teaches multiple Social Science classes at San Jose High School in San Jose, CA , including IB History of the Americas, Economics and Government. In addition to teaching in the classroom, Pamela has worked in multiple teacher leadership roles within the department, the school and the district. She also serves on the board of the California Council for the Social Studies for Region Five. Pamela has been an active member of CCSS since 2009, and is currently working with NCSS to bring the 2017 Conference to San Francisco.
Region 5 (one 1-year seat): Jennifer Elemen
Jennifer E. Elemen, Ed.D. serves as an educational administrator at the Monterey County Office of Education; lecturer at California State University, Monterey Bay; president of the Bay Area Council for the Social Studies. She has taught students and supported educators in programs including AVID, AP, GLAD, History-Social Science, Language and Literacy, Peer Assistance and Review (PAR), Peer Resources, Teacher Induction, and Upward Bound.
Region 6 (one 2-year seat): Janeen Zambo
Janeen Zambo earned her B.A. in Social Science from CSU, Stanislaus in 1992, a single subject credential in Social Science in 1993 and began teaching world and U.S. History in Modesto City Schools in 1993. Since then she has taught numerous high school social science courses including AP European History, AP U.S. Government, and history for a pathway academy. Recently, Janeen returned to college to pursue an EdD in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on K-12 education, graduating in 2017 with honors. Janeen currently serves as the 7-12 Social Science Coordinator for Modesto City Schools.
Region 7 (one year) Gay Atmajian
Bio Coming Soon
Region 8 (one 2-year seat) Stephanie Enriquez
Stephanie Enriquez, History/Social Science/ELD Content Specialist, offers 15 years of teaching experience in grades 6-12 and has experience teaching students of various skills and grade levels, including Special Education, English Learners, and GATE/Honor students in History-Social Science. She is currently the History-Social Science/ELD Content Specialist at Ventura County Office of Education. She facilitates workshops, presentations, and professional development ranging from school, district, to state conferences. She is a member of the History-Social Science Framework Rollout team and presents a breakout session on Chapter 20, Access and Equity. She is also a member of the Educational Advisory Board for the Reagan Presidential Library’s Situation Room, in Simi Valley, Ca. In her position at Ventura County Office of Education, she facilitates workshops with TK-12 teachers in the History-Social Science Framework and standards. In her position, she has been able to expand her professional knowledge beyond History-Social Science to include presentations in the ELA/ELD Framework and ELD Standards, Unit Design to promote literacy, PBIS CHAMPS, Integrated ELD in History-Social Science, Learning Walks, Academic Conversations, and Arts Integration.
Region 9 Representative - Cheryl Rehome
Region 10 Representative - Katherine Rand
Katherine M. Rand is a 21-year veteran Social Studies teacher from the Victor Valley Union High School District. She teaches AP Government, US History Honors, and Mock Trial at Cobalt Institute of Math and Science, and is also serving as a Reflective Coach for the New Teacher Induction Program at the district level. Mrs. Rand is an active member of CCSS, currently serving as one of two Region 10 Directors for CCSS and as Secretary for the Inland Empire Council for Social Studies. Additionally, Mrs. Rand has presented at the IECSS Jamboree, CCSS, and other local Social Science professional development venues.
Region 10 (one 2-year seat, one 1-year seat): Liz Ramos
Liz Ramos has been a high school history teacher since 2005 and is currently teaching World History and AP U.S. Government at Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga. She is passionate about creating opportunities for students to explore history through documents and interactives to #DOhistory. Liz actively seeks opportunities for students to own their their learning and spark their curiosity in the subject matter, as well as to become engaged citizens. Also, she is an active integrator of technology to help students seek out information and create demonstrations of their learning, and emphasizes media and digital literacies with her students.
Stacy teaches 7th and 8th grade history and is also an Induction Technology Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for the district. She provides instructional technology training and support for new teachers participating in the CA Teacher Induction program as well as their support providers in the district. In the 2015-16 school year, Stacy's department piloted a 1:1 blended learning environment with Chromebooks in the classroom. At her site, Stacy created and currently advises the Student Tech Team, coordinated and coached National History Day students, and coordinates the National Geographic Bee each year. Stacy also serves as the history department chair and a member of the Technology Advisory Committee. She is a Google Certified Innovator and Trainer, CUE Rockstar Faculty, Microsoft Innovative Educator, and NewseumED Teacher. In 2015, she was honored by her colleagues by being named the Teacher of the Year at her site. Stacy strongly believe in the power of student voice and is passionate about empowering students to be leaders in the classroom, community, and globally.
Region 11: Karen McCormick (1-year)
Bio Coming Soon