On Politics
“I want to participate in this process as an independent running a completely non-partisan campaign. This is a non-partisan role and I have no political agenda in this pursuit. I am running because I care about the future of College of DuPage as an alum, an educator, a mom, and a taxpaying resident of DuPage County.”
On COD’s Top Priority
“To be successful, the community college of the present needs to prepare students for the world as it will be 10 and 15 years from now. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Automation are not short-term trends. My experience in Silicon Valley as a technology entrepreneur and VC advisor has armed me with a healthy appreciation for the stunning pace and inevitability of recent and emerging technological advancements and the tsunami of automation now underway. Many current careers will not exist at all in a decade, and many will be transformed beyond recognition and demand new skills and aptitudes. Many of our current residents and taxpayers here in DuPage County will need to acquire new tools to be competitive and successful in that world.”
On Taxes and Funding
“COD is sitting on a very strong cash position and I have already begun to meet with college representatives to introduce a number of funding strategies that require nothing further from taxpayers. There is no reason to raise taxes to achieve extraordinary things at COD in the next decade. There are powerful public and private grant funding opportunities along with private capital access strategies that have not been sufficiently explored by the current Board or the College. But most importantly, it’s time to shift the focus away from damage control and papering over past scandals and start to embrace a new era at COD where fiscal responsibility and educational quality are not an either-or proposition.”
On Looking Forward
“We have pooled our money together here in DuPage County and created a great resource for gaining access to knowledge and retooling our skills. But this is no time to allow that resource to become chronically preoccupied with looking backward instead of forward. It’s time to stop staring at the past and start focusing on the future.”