About Doug

Husband and Dad

I have been happily married to my wife Liza for over 20 years, and am the proud father of 2 teenage boys. This year we were thrilled to see our older son graduate from Homestead High School. He spent the last two years of high school taking classes on the campus of DeAnza College after being chosen for the Fremont Union High School District’s Middle College Program. Our younger son is now a Sophomore.

Engineer

My professional training has included multiple engineering degrees:

  • Stanford University, BS Electrical Engineering 1996
  • Stanford University, MS Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management 1998
  • Northwestern University, MS Medical Informatics 2013

My education has equipped me with skills for thinking about problems analytically. My professional experience as a Product Manager has taught me to be pragmatic, to consider and advocate for many perspectives besides my own, to balance competing priorities, and to value achieving progress over pursuing perfection. I seek to find where compromise is possible and to consider nuanced tradeoffs rather than taking an all-or-nothing approach for any given priority.

Advocate

Kids don’t get to vote, so they need adults who will step up and advocate for what they need to grow and thrive. At the end of the day I believe that kids’ education has to come first.

I am running for the Cupertino Union School Board because I want to be a voice that speaks up for putting our students first. For me, that looks like making smart use of our resources to ensure that our kids get a high-quality and relevant education that helps them build the knowledge and skills that will enable them to be successful and happy in their careers and lives. That also involves listening to our teachers and staff so that we retain these skilled professionals who have dedicated their lives to educating the next generation. Finally, that means operating our schools in ways that are both financially and environmentally sound.

Volunteer

I have always believed that the way someone chooses to spend their time says a lot about their priorities. For many years now, besides my family and work commitments, I have devoted countless hours to volunteering: serving my school communities through PTA, being a positive adult role model in Scouting, and working to improve my city’s environment by chairing its Sustainability Commission. The common thread that ties these activities together is that they all involve working to pass along a better world to our kids.

Serving as a leader in many community volunteering roles has taught me the value of seeking out many voices – not only the first to speak or loudest ones. I have learned to look for common ground, especially among groups with differing perspectives that may not have realized that such common ground exists. Finally, I have learned the importance of listening, reflecting, and taking time to sift through what I am hearing to inform my perspective, rather than being in a rush to speak.

PTA

  • Cupertino-Fremont-Sunnyvale Council of PTAs
    • Golden Oak Honorary Service Award recipient, 2024
    • VP Advocacy 2022-2024
    • Exec VP 2020-2022 
  • Homestead High School PTSA: Secretary 2022-2024
  • Sunnyvale Middle School PTSA: Secretary 2021-2022
  • Cumberland Elementary School PTA
    • President 2019-2020
    • Treasurer 2017-2019
    • Safe Routes to School Chair 2016-2020
  • California State PTA: Resolution Author, “Net Zero Emission Schools” resolution, adopted at 2020 California PTA Statewide Meeting http://downloads.capta.org/res/NetZeroEmissionSchools.pdf

Appointed Roles

  • Fremont Union High School District
    • Chair, Community Trustee Area Districting (CTAD) Committee, 2023-2024
  • Sunnyvale School District
    • Chair, Community Bond Oversight & Parcel Tax Committee, 2021-present
    • COVID-19 Reopening Advisory Committee 2020-2021
  • City of Sunnyvale
    • Sustainability Commission 2018-present
      • Chair 2023-2024
      • Vice Chair 2020-2023
    • El Camino Real Corridor Plan Advisory Committee, 2020-2022
    • Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee (alternate member), 2017-2019
  • Silicon Valley Clean Energy
    • Customer Program Advisory Group, 2018

School Site Councils

  • Sunnyvale Middle School Site Council 2020-2022
    • Chair 2021-2022
  • Cumberland Elementary School Site Council, 2019-2020

Scouting

  • Scouts BSA Troop 404, Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council
    • Scoutmaster 2022-present
    • Assistant Scoutmaster, 2020-2022
  • Cub Scout Pack 409, Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council
    • Cubmaster, 2019-2020
    • Den Leader, 2016-2020

Other Programs