Distance Learning Expert Joins Race for PUSD Board

A longtime education professional and expert in distance learning and enrollment has announced her candidacy for the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education.

Crystal Czubernat of Sierra Madre is vying for a seat on the board in the Nov. 3 election, her campaign announced Wednesday in a written statement. The election will fall in the middle of an unprecedented school year, which the PUSD has indicated may start with online-only instruction due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am the best qualified and most experienced candidate to help guide the PUSD through the big changes in teaching practices and the use of technology the PUSD now faces,” Czubernat said.

Czubernat said she has nearly two decades of experience in education, “both as a credentialed teacher and then as a School Enrollment and Distance Learning Expert,” according to the statement.

“She has worked to help schools build their brand, market their programs, and recruit the highest quality students and to establish multiple online school programs,” her campaign’s statement said.

She currently serves as chief operating officer of the online telehealth therapeutic service The Christian Closet.

She lists her experience as including serving as vice president of enrollment for Pasadena’s Pacific Oaks College.

“She also was a pioneer in working to establish online learning at multiple public high schools serving students who have fallen behind in school or were looking to get ahead and graduate early, or simply desired what was then a non-traditional learning environment,” the statement said.

Czubernat holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, master’s degrees in curriculum and online instruction and is in the process of completing a doctorate in organizational leadership, according to her campaign.

She lives in Sierra Madre with her wife, Candice, and their twins, who attend the PUSD’s Sierra Madre Elementary School.

Also running for the District 6 seat, currently occupied by Lawrence Torres, are Priscilla Hernandez and Tina Fredericks, according to nomination documents. Torres has announced he will not be seeking re-election.

PUSD Education seats are also up for grabs in District 2, currently held by Roy Boulghourjian, and District 4, currently held by Patrick Cahalan.

Candidacy documents have been filed in District 2 by Wayne Hammack, Michael G. Crowley and Jennifer Hall Lee.

In District 4, nominations have been recorded for Cahalan and Scott Harden.The nomination period remains open through Aug. 7 in races where an incumbent is running, and Aug. 12 in races in which the incumbent does not seek re-election, according to the city.