About

I am 49, moved into our beautiful district 20 years ago, and live in Plymouth with my teen daughter Amber Spinetta. I taught American Government at local colleges for 15 years, recently became a substitute teacher at Amador County Unified, and have volunteered helping wildfire survivors over the past 8 years.

I was a parent volunteer for 8 years with Gold Nugget 4-H in Plymouth, served as fundraising chair on the Amador County 4-H council, and on the statewide California 4-H Civic Engagement/Service-Learning Advisory Committee.

We need someone who is committed to handling all of the issues we face–with energy, drive, and time-tested leadership skills that ensure the very best outcomes. My background includes: Humanities PhD (UC Davis) and Masters in U.S. Government (Sac State), political organizer who successfully helped to pass bills at the legislature, government technology consultant for Fortune 500 technology companies, political science professor, Fulbright scholar, and a volunteer over 30 years (including five years of wildfire survivor relief)–all of which would be an absolute asset to the Board of Supervisors, our entire community, and all of Amador County. 

My resume follows:

EDUCATION 

2013 Ph.D. Performance Studies. University of California, Davis Designated Emphasis: Feminist Theory and Research. Study Abroad. Slovenia. University of Ljubljana.

Dissertation: “Feminism From the Inside Out: Women and Yoga in the United States” 

Finalist – National Women’s Studies Association First Book Prize 2008 

2002 Master of Arts. Political Science. California State University, Sacramento, CA 

1995 Fulbright Fellowship. University of Zimbabwe, Harare 

1994 Bachelor of Arts. Anthropology and Literary Studies. Pitzer College. Claremont, CA 

1993 Study Abroad. University of Zimbabwe, Harare 

TEACHING APPOINTMENTS (PROFESSOR OF RECORD)

2014-17 ENDICOTT COLLEGE. BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS 

Introduction to Philosophy, Religion in American Life, World Religions 

2002-2012 UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX, GREATER SACRAMENTO REGION

U.S. History, Critical Thinking, Ethics, Introduction to Philosophy

2011 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS 

Performance Analysis

2007-08 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO 

American Government 

2003-05 LOS RIOS COMMUNITY COLLEGES: AMADOR, SACRAMENTO, DAVIS, COSUMNES

American Government, International Relations 

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

AMADOR COUNTY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. 2018-Present. Substitute Teacher.

EVANGELISTA COMMUNITY RELATIONS. 2020. Served as Field Director for field team raising awareness in Amador County about the U.S. Census.

COMMON SENSE KIDS ACTION. Parent Representative for the Sierra. 2017-2018 Led parent and student groups in raising awareness and passing laws on public policy related to children.

COSUMNES RIVER COLLEGE. Sacramento, CA 2005 Prepared needs assessment for new community college in Amador County, California. 

THE CENTER FOR DIGITAL GOVERNMENT. Folsom, CA 2000-03 Designed policy research projects: conceived methodologies, sampling, data gathering, and statistical analysis. Implemented report writing, delivery and presentation. 

THE CENTER FOR DIGITAL EDUCATION. Folsom, CA 2000-03 Researched education technology initiatives at federal, state and local level, coordinated team of lobbyists throughout 50 states. 

FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP. Harare, Zimbabwe 1995-96 Studied and worked with a women’s theater group. Developed plays and workshops for families, women and children on critical issues such as domestic violence, AIDS, work cooperatives, mental depression, and women’s rights, in rural and urban areas. Featured in the documentary “Women’s World Wide Web” by German filmmaker Hans Ulbricht in 1997.

 LATINO THEATER LAB. Mark Taper Forum. Los Angeles, CA 1994 Conducted research including interviews and video transcriptions of productions, production assistant on Reflexiones, and managed historical research for the play workshop of Bandido! with Jose Luis Valenzuela and Luis Valdez. 

AUTHOR’S ASSISTANT. UC BERKELEY. Berkeley, CA 1993 Conducted research on indigenous medicinal practices for Richard Grossinger’s book Planet Medicine (3rd ed.).

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST JOURNAL. Claremont, CA 1990-93 Assistant editor of peer reviewed scholarly journal, processed incoming articles, edited and managed all book reviews, copy editing of articles in final year. 

NORTH ATLANTIC BOOKS. Berkeley, CA 1991-1993 (summer job) Delivered all aspects of book production for holistic health publisher, including proofreading, editing, layout and public relations. Wrote index for book Healing With Whole Foods. 

ASIAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT. DR. JOE PARKER. PITZER COLLEGE 1991 Handled research requests for professor’s professional writing. Analyzed terminology, located texts, researched topics in Asian Studies, Buddhism and cultural theory, and investigated availability of information across the discipline.