Governing Board

The Governing Board is elected by the community to provide leadership and citizen oversight of the District’s schools. The Governing Board works with the Superintendent to fulfill its major roles, which include:

  1. Setting the direction for the District that is focused on student learning and achievement.
  2. Establishing an effective and efficient organizational structure for the District.
  3. Provide support to the Superintendent and staff as they carry out the Board’s direction.
  4. Ensuring accountability to the public for the performance of the District’s schools. (Board Bylaw 9000)

Board Members always appreciate hearing from constituents, with the understanding that decisions cannot be made by an individual Board Member, and most requests are best handled at the school site or District Office level.

We are proud that all five of our current board members have attended Masters in Governance training from the California School Boards Association. This intensive training included more than 45 hours of instruction in the following subjects:

  • MIG Course 1: Foundations of Effective Governance  | Setting Direction

  • MIG Course 2: Policy & Judicial Review | Student Learning & Achievement

  • MIG Course 3: School Finance

  • MIG Course 4: Human Resources | Collective Bargaining   

  • MIG Course 5: Community Relations and Advocacy | Governance Integration

A helpful graphic to represent both the Governing Board and staff role in setting district direction can be seen at the bottom of this webpage.

 
Photo of Carlos Ulloa
Carlos Ulloa, Ed.D.
Board President

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Ulloa is a proud graduate of the public school system and is the father to a grown son and grandfather to two grandsons. He grew up in Escondido and has lived in Carlsbad since 2001. He is the son of immigrants. His mother immigrated from Mexico and his father from El Salvador. From an early age, he wanted to become an educator. While at San Diego State, he tutored middle and high school students for the California Mini Corps Program. 

Since 1991, Dr. Ulloa has served as a primary and secondary teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and university lecturer. Dr. Ulloa also served a four-year term as Governor Brown’s appointee to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), an advisory body to the California State Board of Education. As an education commissioner, Dr. Ulloa and his fellow education commissioners were responsible for the development of the state’s math, ELA, and history-social science frameworks and the adoption process for instructional materials. Dr. Ulloa was a champion and steward as the state implemented the FAIR Education Act in the K-12 history-social science framework. 

Degrees and Certifications:
Dr. Ulloa earned his bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a Spanish Bilingual Emphasis from San Diego State University. Dr. Ulloa also holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, Los Angeles.


  Photo of Sarah Ahmad
Sarah Ahmad
Board Vice President

Email: [email protected]

Sarah Ahmad is a mother of two SMUSD students, director of a software company, and current school board member; she has been a resident of the vibrant and diverse community of San Marcos for 14 years. She grew up in Southern California and is a product of the California Public School system, ultimately receiving a degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine. 

Sarah is dedicated to showing by example, to all students, that you can achieve what you set your mind to through perseverance and hard work. In her professional career outside the school district, Sarah is a Director of Strategy for the Semiconductor and Software industry solutions at a large software company. She is a strong advocate for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) in life and in our schools. She is committed to outreach and education and serves on the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) San Diego board as the STEM Coordinator. 

When not working, she spends her time with her family, volunteering for charitable causes like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and takes a keen interest in art and health.

Degrees and Certifications: Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, is certified in Safe Agile processes and has a Product Management certification from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Andres Martin

Andrés Martín
Board Clerk 

Email: [email protected]

Andrés Martín is a lifelong resident of North County and has lived in San Marcos for the past 38 years. Andrés is well acquainted with the San Marcos Unified School District, having attended San Marcos Elementary, Richland Elementary, San Marcos Middle School, and graduated as a proud Knight from San Marcos High in 1994.

As an Educator in a neighboring school district, Andrés has been a professional School Counselor for the past 22 years. In addition to his dedication to students, Andrés is also dedicated to his community, where he has served on several local non-profit boards.

He is a proud father of a preschooler who attends an SMUSD elementary school, and his wife is an elementary school teacher working with fourth graders in a dual immersion program in East County.

Degrees and Certifications:
Andrés received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in School Counseling with a Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential from the University of San Diego.


Photo of Stacy Carlson
Stacy Carlson
Board Member

Email: [email protected]

Stacy grew up in North County and moved to San Marcos in 2010 with her husband and daughter. Stacy has demonstrated a strong commitment to the San Marcos community and beyond. She was honored with the “Spirit of the Community” award and has been recognized by the County of San Diego for her community service. Stacy is passionate about mentoring students and continues to work with students as often as she can. She also offers internships to students at her lab in San Marcos, where her business provides custom diagnostic equipment for fusion research.

As a Board member, Stacy has advocated for community schools to provide wraparound services for our most vulnerable families. She has championed equal access to high-quality education for all students by promoting a rigorous curriculum that will prepare all students to be college and career ready, and has also advocated for personal finance classes at the high school level. She has supported music and arts programs and solar projects for all school sites, as well as electric buses for the district. She supports modern learning environments that give students the best access to state-of-the-art equipment and curriculum to prepare students to be Future Ready.

Degrees and Certifications:
Stacy holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Vanguard University and a master's degree in Public Affairs from the University of California, Berkeley. 


Photo of Jaime Chamberlin
Jaime Chamberlin
Board Member

Email: [email protected]

Jaime Chamberlin has been an active member of San Marcos for 11 years. She has served on her HOA Board in both Director and President roles, as well as Knob Hill Elementary School PTO Director and President.  
 
Jaime is proud that her daughter has grown up in the San Marcos Unified School District and is now attending Woodland Middle School. Jaime continues her volunteer work both in her community and at Knob Hill Elementary. 
 
Jaime has worked in both higher education as well as in biotechnology industries. She comes from a family of teachers and administrators, giving her a unique understanding of many different aspects of education.  She is dyslexic as well as a former GATE student, and knows the powerful impact well-trained educators have on students. As a result, she is focused on providing equitable and quality public education for ALL students. 

Degrees and Certifications:
Jaime holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, International Studies from Hawaii Pacific University.