Michelle for SVUSD
About Michelle
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Taxpayers,
My name is Michelle O’Brien. I’m a mom, grandmother and taxpayer. My family and I have lived in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District area for over 30- years. I’ve raised two daughters and helped raise my grandson who graduated from SVUSD schools. They are wonderful adults, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
I retired in 2022 to volunteer in my community, spoke with parents and teachers about their challenges with protecting and educating children. I have a good understanding of what teachers face and listened to their suggestions on how to better retain quality teachers. I heard the parents loud and clear. As a school board member, I will truly listen to their suggestions and include parents and guardians in creating and implementing a Parental Bill of Rights in addition to other aspects of children’s education and safety.
It will be my goal to improve quality education in all Saddleback Valley Unified schools.
I humbly ask for your vote and support. I’ll be an advocate for students, parents, quality teachers and taxpayers.
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Sincerely,
Michelle O’Brien
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Michelle's Community Involvement
Michelle's Professional & Community Experience
Michelle's professional background includes:
Lead education activities and tours for K-College and the general public for
13 years.
Managed construction planning budgets. Transparency is important to gain and keep public trust.
Over 30 years’ experience with managing large budgets. Public entities are responsible for being good stewards with taxpayer money.
Communication Lead on construction projects that would impact the public.
I made sure to not allow traffic control or construction activities near a school to take place 30 minutes before school began or until 30 minutes after school let out. As a parent I know the importance of getting children to and from school safely and on time.
I have a great deal of experience with solving problems. I look at programs, events, financial planning and try to anticipate what could go wrong, then address it beforehand.
I’ve hosted many town hall meetings where I’d present to the public on various topics, answer questions, and receive public input.
Past President of Water Education Water Awareness Committee (WEWAC)
Past member of Water Emergency Response Orange County (WEROC)
Michelle's Community Involvement
Past Trabuco Hills High School football booster. This included fundraising, setting up and serving two meals per week to players, staff, and volunteers.
Current Mission Viejo Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge Government Relations Chair. Responsibilities include attending and speaking at Mission Viejo and Lake Forest city council meetings, planning and community services commission meetings, Saddleback Valley Unified School Board, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Orange County Board of Education, and Chamber of Commerce events. Additionally, I represent the Elks Lodge at City community events such as Arbor/Earth Day where our booth had a hands-on, educational activity with giveaway items. I volunteer to serve meals and host events such as “Story Time” where books about patriotism and family values were read. I also volunteer for the Elks Lodge Dictionary program and deliver dictionaries to all 3rd grade students in Saddleback Valley Unified and Capistrano Unified school districts.
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I’m fortunate to belong to numerous groups that support our military and their families by hosting a Beach Bash for 1,000 Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton. We also assemble baby baskets and host baby showers for expectant Marines and spouses among other events.
About SVUSD
SVUSD is divided into 5 Trustee Areas. Michelle O'Brien is running in Area 3 (red part of the map below), which covers parts of Mission Viejo and Lake Forest.
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SVUSD serves 26,304 students across 35 schools.
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