Contra Costa Co. Board of Education Names New President

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – The Contra Costa County Board of Education recently selected Fatima Alleyne as the board’s new president for 2018.

Alleyne, who was elected in November 2016 as the Area 1 board member representing West Contra Costa County, was selected by the five-member board, and Area 4 board member, Jeff Belle was named vice-president.

Alleyne, will succeed Mike Maxwell and becomes the first African-American chosen for the county board president.

“I am thrilled and honored to assume this role and to assist our board in carrying out its mission of serving the education community of Contra Costa County,” Alleyne said. “I ran for County Board of Education because I believe all students deserve access to a quality public education, and this board plays an important role in making that happen.”

As the first African-American to serve in the position, Alleyne follows in the footsteps of Karen Sakata, who in 2014 was elected as the first female superintendent in the county and first Asian-American superintendent in California.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Alleyne in her new role and I am confident that she will continue to lead the Board with integrity,” Sakata said. “The success of our agency depends largely on a collaborative relationship between the Board president and the County superintendent.”

Alleyne holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Hunter College, M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Berkeley, and prior to running for the County Board of Education, she was employed as a research general engineer for the federal government and a researcher and instructor at UC Berkeley.

She has been highly involved in her community and the West Contra Costa Unified School District including serving on the Community Budget Advisory Committee, School Site Council, Parent Teacher Association and Healthy Richmond Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Video Committee. She currently works as an education consultant for FA Consulting and the Center for Restorative Justice, and has been a west county resident for more than 10 years.

The Contra Costa County Board of Education consists of five members elected by trustee districts to staggered four-year terms. Each member represents a different area of the county and must be a registered voter in that area. The other four board members include Vikki Chavez (Area 2), Christine Deane (Area 3), Jeff Belle (Area 4) and Mike Maxwell (Area 5).

PHOTO from left: Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata and Contra Costa County Board of Education President Dr. Fatima Alleyne.

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--Photo courtesy of CCCOE