Dublin Unified School District Announces New Hires

Press release from The Dublin Unified School District:

June 28, 2021

The Dublin Unified School District, which serves over 12,900 students, from preschool through adult education, in a diverse suburban environment, confirmed a number of new hires during its final regularly scheduled Board Meeting of the 2020-2021 school year. On the evening of June 22, 2021, the district announced its new Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, the Fallon Middle School Principal, its Director of Fiscal Services, an Information Technology Supervisor, and its Wellness Coordinator.

“The 2021-2022 school year is just around the corner, and having the right staff to help us transition back to some level of normalcy will be critical, ” said Daniel Moirao, Interim Superintendent of the Dublin Unified School District. “We are thrilled to welcome this diverse group of talented individuals to their new roles in the district. ”

Heather Duncan, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
Before being announced as the Dublin Unified School District’s new Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Heather Duncan served as the District’s Interim Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources for Certificated staff. She came to Dublin with extensive experience in the education market, including a dozen years teaching in elementary school classrooms and another 13 years serving as an elementary school principal.

Throughout her career, Ms. Duncan has worked to develop the leadership, analytic thinking, and collaborative skills necessary to fulfill the varied roles of the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources position, including labor relations, negotiations, and running the Personnel Services Department. She is also adept at leading professional development, teacher coaching, curriculum implementation, and site leadership.

Her goal is to work collaboratively and effectively with the District’s labor partners in supporting a high level of customer service for employees, including ensuring all employees are effectively onboarded and supported through effective communication.

Her work as an educational leader is grounded in her passion for making schools and districts places that are inspiring and supportive for educators to work and promote the learning of students. A commitment to equity and ensuring a high-quality education for all children is at the core of her work.

Ms. Duncan has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Masters in Educational Leadership, and is currently working towards a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on social justice.

Mark Nelson, Principal, Fallon Middle School
Mark Nelson comes to the Dublin Unified School District with two decades of experience, having served the last ten years as Assistant Principal at Mill Valley Middle School in Mill Valley, CA. Mr. Nelson believes that effective instructional leadership comes through supporting the “instructional core” of teachers, students, and curriculum. This is done through being visible in classrooms, building relationships with teachers and students, providing professional development opportunities that help teachers meet the needs of all their students, and creating and maintaining a physically and emotionally safe, productive, and positive learning environment. During his tenure in Mill Valley Middle School, Mr. Nelson created and facilitated professional development activities, overhauled the school’s Comprehensive Safety Plan, and developed and fostered relationships with parents and community members. Prior to his leadership role at Mill Valley Middle School, he taught history to middle school students in San Diego, CA.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Mark grew up in Beaverton, OR, before graduating from Gonzaga University with B.A. in History and a Secondary Education Teaching credential. While he is supportive of the local teams, he is a proud fan of the Portland Trailblazers, Portland Timbers, San Diego Padres, and his beloved Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball.

Connie Lu, Director of Fiscal Services
Connie Lu has been a member of the Dublin Unified School District Business Services team since 2018 when she was hired as the District’s Accounting Manager. In 2020, Ms. Lu became the District’s Interim Director of Fiscal Service. She has over two decades of experience in the education market, having previously held financial services positions in the Hayward, San Lorenzo, and Newark Unified School Districts.

During her time in Dublin, Ms. Lu has been instrumental in further developing a solid payroll and accounting team. She has improved the district's financial reporting and worked to resolve perennial audit issues, resulting in financial audits with no findings for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years. She has worked with partners in human resources to dramatically improve position control, a crucial function in any K12 school district.

Ms. Lu has extensive experience in many areas critical to the District, including accounting management, budget development, budget controls, payroll supervision, year-end closing, and financial reporting. She is known for her pleasant demeanor - performing her work with a contagious positive attitude - and her ability to maintain a productive working environment. In 2016, she was recognized for her outstanding work as the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Business Services Administrator of the Year.

Gary Muhammad, Information Technology Supervisor
Gary Muhammad has been in public and private sector technology positions for over 30 years, working with everyone from Bank of America, to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Intel, and most recently, the New Haven Unified School District, where he served as a Network Systems Specialist. While Mr. Muhammad has developed many important traits during his three decades in the IT profession, including vendor management expertise, and highly effective communication and interpersonal skills, he believes the most valuable trait is his strong commitment to customer service. In the New Haven Unified School District, his job duties included installing, monitoring, and supporting all district wired and wireless routers, switches, and access points; reviewing network requirements and setting-up systems accordingly; designing rules and regulations for the use of the networks; maintaining an inventory of hardware and software equipment that are required to maintain network performance and availability; and overseeing the installation of network resources in new offices and other areas of the school district.

One thing Mr. Muhammad enjoys most is helping his co-workers resolve issues at their respective sites and training them in areas of need.

Joy Maglalong-Young, Wellness Coordinator
Ms. Maglalong-Young currently serves as an Elementary School Counselor in the Dublin Unified School District where she provides a host of services to K-5 students, including social-emotional presentations, helping students navigate complex issues like divorce, anxiety, and military deployment, as well as group counseling focused on self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. As the one-time Health and Wellness Coordinator for the Newark Unified School District, Ms. Maglalang-Young has worked closely with county directors, school administrators, and district leaders to design and implement programs that are supportive of students’ and families’ social-emotional well-being.

She has served as a Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems District Coach and has worked with multi-level teams within Title I schools to create a holistic network of supports for students and families in communities furthest from opportunity. She has managed staff and created career pathways for parents within the school district through the Parent Partners program, utilizing the wisdom and life experience of parents in the communities.

Ms. Maglalong-Young is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology.

This press release was produced by The Dublin Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.