SDCOE Celebrates 1,625 Years of Service

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) honored nearly 100 employees recently for their combined 1,625 years of service to the organization.

Each year, SDCOE recognizes its employees who have retired or who have 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years of service at its Celebrating Excellence event. This year featured a classic Hollywood theme.

“What a great day to be able to celebrate the amazing accomplishment of all of you as part of our SDCOE family,” Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County superintendent of schools, told the honorees. “This is about you. This is about recognizing the hard work that you do. This is about making sure that you feel values, honored, respected, but most importantly loved for everything that you do to not just support this organization, but more importantly for our families and students.”

The honorees received certificates and shoutouts from colleagues as part of the event, which was organized by a committee of SDCOE employees.

“The people who work at SDCOE are the most dedicated, talented, friendly people I've ever worked with,” said Nancy Baum, who is celebrating 15 years at SDCOE. “There is a culture and expectation that we help each other, and that we provide excellent customer service...always. I am continually inspired by the work we do as an organization for students and staff in San Diego County.”

SDCOE is inspiring and leading innovation in education so that all students can thrive in a future without boundaries. The more than 1,100 employees at SDCOE help the county’s school districts operate efficiently and with significant cost savings by leveraging resources to perform personnel tasks and provide staff development and other services.

With a focus on equity, innovation, and career technical education, SDCOE directly educates more than 3,000 students at more than 20 sites each year and provides support services to more than 500,000 students across 42 school districts.

Employees celebrating milestones this year:

10 Years

• Michelle Adams
• Jessica Billeci
• Amanda Bosworth
• Flavio Ceja
• Jessica Cole
• Mark Curtis
• Alicia Gallegos-Butters
• Mirsha Garcia
• Kathryn Hall
• Peyri Herrera
• Hector Jimenez
• Sally Lopez
• Kathleen Loyd
• Michele Manley
• Teresa Mercado
• Marco Moore
• Elvira Navarro
• Gail Paradeza
• Tatiana Patton
• Ronny Rowan
• Amanda Ruiz
• Melinda Shacklett
• Sheryl White

15 Years

• Michelle Bailow
• Andrew Baldwin
• Nancy Baum
• Kehinde Bello
• Veraleen Bondoc
• Claudia Cordova
• Doreen Daligcon
• Tamara Davis
• Brian DeLeon
• Dulce Gonzalez
• Marco Gonzalez-Pulido
• Donald Jackson
• DaDisi Jacobs
• Brandy Jensen
• Matheno Landers
• Blanca Lopez
• Jose Lopez Jr.
• Mara Madrigal-Weiss
• Sara Matthews
• Kimberly McAlexander
• Valentina Mills
• Karina Montgomery
• Alejandra Mora
• Norma Morguia
• Ana Nicassio
• Juan Orozco
• Gemma Pilapil
• Jacqueline Smith-West
• Leonita Smith
• Vong Sopha
• Carolyn Squeo
• Aimee Trevino
• Diana Vega
• Stephen Williams
• Allison Wootton
• Ofelia Zendejas

20 Years

• Shelby Arnett
• Oscar Campos
• Allan Centeno
• Christine Chapman
• Douglas Connor
• Ofelia Dominguez
• Suzan Dussault
• Maricela Garcia
• Jacqueline Gudino
• Aida Hairston
• Lina Ledezma-Cortez
• Ricardo Lopez
• Dawn Miller
• Blanca Munoz
• Jesus Ramirez Ramos
• David Rubalcava
• Ines Ruiloba
• Nicole Shina
• Cristobal Silva
• Ellen Spencer
• Gabriela Torres
• Fely Udarbe
• Edna Villalobos

25 Years

• Cheryl Ames
• Gertrude Atchison
• Stephanie Cruz
• Patricia Fogliano
• Jay Garcia
• Stephanie Johnston
• Ali Maroufi
• Angela Gigliotti Ortiz
• Theresa Siega
• Susan Thorne

30 Years

• Cristina Araya
• Jennifer Browning
• Kimberly Glover
• Raymond Mallard
• Therese Maness
• Diana McGawley

Retirees

• Cristina Araya
• Bella Bagorio
• Jennifer Browning
• Gregory Bruno
• Evette Callahan
• Kurt Christopher
• John Cusack
• David Descoteaux
• Estella Estrada
• Lucia Garay
• Eva Gomez
• Kimberly Heitchew
• Susan Jeremiah
• Donna Judge
• Lisa La Licata
• Diana McGawley  
• Mariam Pourzamani
• Olivia Rivera
• Jodie Ruiz
• Susana Whitaker
• Sandra Wiltfong