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 Sarah Ahmad
Sarah Ahmad
Board 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 Vice President 

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 Clerk

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. 



Heidi Herrick
Board Member

Email: heidi.herrick@smusd.org

Heidi Herrick is a mother of three SMUSD students, at La Costa Meadows, San Elijo Middle, and soon to be San Marcos High School, and Executive Director for a MedTech recruiting firm, which she helped start. Together with her husband, they have lived in North County for close to 20 years, and in San Marcos for over 10 years. Heidi grew up in Florida, in a large family of serial entrepreneurs. While she attended private school for elementary and middle, one of her greatest educational experiences was her four years in public high school.  Now as a parent & board member, she is passionate about championing career/college readiness for our SMUSD students, whichever path they choose after graduation.

Heidi & her husband, who is a public school teacher in neighboring school district, are actively involved in the community. She enjoys coaching youth sports, serving in her church, as well as serving on the board of directors for a breast cancer recovery non-profit (BRAVE).

For fun & fitness, Heidi is an avid surfer & Master’s swimmer.  

Degrees & Certifications:
Heidi holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology from the University of South Florida.



 
Lena Meum
Board Member

Email: lena.meum@smusd.org

Lena Meum is the mother of four SMUSD students and enjoys being an active member of our community.  She and her husband were both raised in San Marcos and are products of the San Marcos Unified School District. Lena attended Woodland Park Elementary, San Marcos Middle School, and graduated from San Marcos High School in 1998. As a student, she was the drum major of the marching band, served on the Associated Student Body (ASB), played soccer, and ran on the track & field team. After college, she started her career in Finance and later moved to Recruitment and Human Resources Operations within the healthcare industry.
 
Community service and involvement have always been very important to Lena. She served on the San Marcos Student Neighborhood Relations Commission, helping make sure our local government is addressing the concerns of our community. When her oldest son started Kindergarten at Richland, she joined the PTO (FOR Club) and served as Vice President and President. She is a member of the San Marcos Lions Club and served as 1st and 2nd Vice President. She has also been an active member of her church where she served on the leadership team.
 
Degrees and Certifications: 
Lena holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Diego and completed her master’s in business administration (MBA) from California State University, San Marcos.