Jen is a lifelong educator and BUSD parent with deep connections to Berkeley public schools. Her two children have attended Malcolm X, Willard, Longfellow, and Berkeley High, and her wife Sarah Cline is the co-director of the renowned Berkeley High Jazz Program. Jen herself also spent thirteen years working in BUSD as a teacher and principal. She currently works in Oakland Unified as Director of School Improvement. 

Jen holds a BA in Educational Studies from Brown University, a Masters in Education from Mills College, and a Masters in Educational Administration from UC Berkeley.

She was born and raised in Austin, Texas and moved to the Bay Area after college. She volunteered as an AmeriCorps member with the organization Partners in School Innovation, coordinated afterschool programs in Oakland, and worked with the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC), before returning to graduate school to earn her teaching credential at Mills College. She began her teaching career as a Spanish bilingual teacher in Oakland, transferring to Berkeley five years later. Since leaving her principalship in BUSD in 2018, Jen has supported beginning school administrators through both UC Berkeley's School of Education and the Alameda County Office of Education. For the past five years she has worked in OUSD supporting schools that are undergoing major changes and redesigns.

As a BUSD principal, Jen improved student achievement by implementing targeted supports for English Learners, emphasizing early intervention in reading, and providing teachers with the training and support needed to implement a new math curriculum. She created a relationship-rich school environment in which students felt safe and cared-for, and families felt welcome. She is a bilingual educator, fluent in Spanish, with a deep commitment to ensuring that all students are both challenged and supported in our public schools.

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

Click here to request a yard sign