Roy Boulghourjian Elected President of the Pasadena Unified Board of Education

At its annual organizational meeting on Monday 1, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education elected Roy Boulghourjian as its president. Larry Torres was elected vice president and Patrick Cahalan was elected clerk. Newly elected board member Michelle Richardson Bailey and reelected board members Kimberly Kenne, Elizabeth Pomeroy, and Scott Phelps were sworn into office.

“It is my honor to serve the children, families and community of our schools as president of the board,” said Mr. Boulghourjian. “I look forward to teaming with Board Members and Superintendent Brian McDonald in leading the district to continue delivering strong educational choices for all families who value academic excellence, innovation, and diversity in both programs and students.”

Mr. Boulghourjian was elected to the Board of Education in 2015 and represents District 2. He has previously served as Board vice president and clerk. A 30-year resident of Pasadena, he is a professor and Dean of Academic Operations at Mt. Sierra College in Monrovia, California. He has served as a Board member on the Pasadena Educational Foundation and the Measure TT Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.

Mr. Torres, who was named vice president of the Board, was also elected to the Board in 2015 and represents District 6. A National Board Certified Teacher, Mr. Torres grew up in nearby Eagle Rock before moving east to attend college. Mr. Torres has served on school site councils at Sierra Madre Elementary School, Sierra Madre Middle School and Pasadena High School since 1999. He lives in Sierra Madre.

Mr. Cahalan, named Board Clerk, was elected to the Board in 2015 and represents District 4. He is Manager of Technical Operations for the Computational and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) Department at Caltech. Mr. Cahalan has a long career in education and technology and has taught technology classes and workshops for high school and college-level students, faculty, and staff. He served on the PUSD District Advisory Council and the Longfellow Elementary school site council.

Newly elected and re-elected board members took the oath of office and were sworn in by Judge Dorothy Nelson.

Ms. Bailey, who was elected to represent District 3 in March 2017 was sworn in and is the Board’s newest member. Until her recent retirement, she was a classified employee of PUSD for the last 14 years, most recently at Blair High School. She has served as a city commissioner and as a member of the district’s Equity and Access Committee. Mrs. Bailey and her children are products of PUSD schools.

Ms. Kenne was originally elected to the Board in 2011 and represents District 1. She served as the president of the board in 2016-2017. Ms. Kenne has been actively involved as a parent leader at the school site, district, and state levels since her children started kindergarten at Burbank Elementary.

Dr. Pomeroy was originally elected to the Board in 2009 and represents District 5. She served as president of the board in 2015-2016. A Stanford University graduate, she holds a Ph.D. in English from UCLA. Dr. Pomeroy has taught English at Pasadena City College, UCLA, UC Irvine, and California State University Los Angeles. Dr. Pomeroy began her career teaching in middle and high school.

Mr. Phelps was elected to the Board of Education in 2005 and represents District 7. He served as president of the board in 2014-2015 and as its vice-president twice. Mr. Phelps is an instructor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of La Verne, Mt. San Antonio College and Chaffey College, and serves as a consultant for external evaluations of federal and state school reform grants received by school districts.

“I welcome new board member Michelle Richardson Bailey and new Board President Roy Boulghourjian and look forward to working together as a team of eight to truly make a difference in the educational outcomes of the children we serve,” said Superintendent Brian McDonald.