Lucy Shen

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lucy Shen

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Wellesley College, 2017

Personal

Birthplace

Fremont, Calif.

Profession

Software engineer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Lucy Shen ran for election to the Fremont Unified Board of Education to represent Area 5 in California. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Shen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Shen was born in Fremont, California. She earned a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 2017. Her career experience includes working as a software engineer and a former MIT researcher. She has also worked as a youth mentor with StandUp for Kids, Girls who Code, and Spark. As of her 2020 campaign, Shen was an FUSD-appointed member and secretary for the CHPSE Task Force.

Elections

2020

See also: Fremont Unified School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Fremont Unified School District Board of Education Area 5

Vivek Prasad defeated Lucy Shen and incumbent Michele Berke in the general election for Fremont Unified School District Board of Education Area 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Vivek Prasad (Nonpartisan)	38.4	8,158
		Lucy Shen (Nonpartisan)	33.3	7,056
		Michele Berke (Nonpartisan)	28.2	5,975
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	31

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,220
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Endorsements

To view Shen's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 23, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lucy Shen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Fremont, Lucy Shen (沈静雨) is running to bring a focus on mental health, diversity, and transparency to the school board, while ensuring that all Fremont students are safe and healthy during the COVID pandemic. Having attended Fremont schools, Lucy has a deep understanding of the FUSD student experience, both the strengths and what can be improved. Lucy is also a daughter of bilingual immigrants and will use that to bridge the generational and cultural gaps between the school board and the community. Lucy's work on the CHPSE Task Force helped her understand the views of all stakeholders-parents, teachers, staff, and students. The recommendations she made led to the implementation of a high quality curriculum that addressed everyone's needs. As a youth mentor with StandUp for Kids, Girls who Code, and Spark, Lucy empowered at-risk and minority youth to achieve their full potential. In addition, Lucy understands how to use technology to increase board transparency and efficiency from her experiences as a software engineer and a former MIT researcher. Lucy looks forward to bringing that same passion for health and safety, transparency, and diversity to the school board.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• As a graduate of FUSD and as a bilingual child of immigrants, I know firsthand that navigating the school system is not easy. Our parents, teachers, and administration are all doing their best during the pandemic, but it's hard to keep everyone up to date with the nearly constant changes. It's my job as an alum and a board member to be your voice, and to bridge the gaps and help repair some of the breakdowns in communication I've witnessed in the district resulting from years of misunderstanding and misinformation.
• I believe that most parents and teachers want the same thing: what's best for the students. My vision for FUSD is one where we are united, not divided. I want to see a school system where students have access to the mental health resources they need, to see our families represented in the history books we study, to have school information clearly communicated and translated into the languages we speak at home. To build a district where every student is seen for who we are, where all of us can thrive-whatever that means to us.
• Our campaign is powered by current students along with Mission and Irvington alums. This campaign is a love letter from us to the parents and teachers that raised us, and to the generations of students that will come after us. I'm running as a voice from the community, for the community. Together, we can build a school system that's inclusive and accessible to everyone.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Health & Safety: Protecting student health and safety while maintaining FUSD's high standards of excellence. This includes ensuring every student has the resources for effective distance learning, ensuring that COVID-19 tests will be available across the district, and increasing the capacity of custodial and sanitation staff in preparation for reopening.

Community Accessibility & Transparency: Maximizing communication and collaboration between parents, students, teachers, and staff, especially around issues of school reopening and COVID prevention. This includes actively soliciting parent and student feedback, pushing for data and policy transparency, and streamlining the process for community engagement.

Mental Health: Improving mental health resources, by pushing FUSD to hire mental health professionals who can truly address our community's needs and allocating funding for student-led initiatives.

Diversity in Education: Pushing for culturally supportive, diverse curricula that will allow students to see themselves in community role models, historical movements, and a variety of career paths, preparing our next generation for leadership.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

First and foremost, an FUSD School Board member serves as the liaison between stakeholders across the district, including parents, teachers, students, and staff. Each group has valuable expertise and lived experiences. For every decision that we make-whether about budgeting, curricula, or human resources-it is our job as trustees to be excellent listeners, to carefully elicit community viewpoints, and to make decisions that center the learning and development of all students.

Day-to-day, this includes being easily accessible through email, phone and in-person; hosting regular office hours and linguistically accessible parent education nights; and participating in school and community events. Additionally, from my experiences working with the district and conversations with past and current trustees, I know improvements can be made to increase overall community engagement. For example, the board should decrease the barriers to entry for participating in district meetings and ensure that all public data and policy decisions are transparent and easy to find.

Finally, trustees are stewards of our district's resources; we must consider that we are building a foundation for the students of today and of the future. As we are often limited by decisions made at the state and national levels, it is also our job to follow these higher-level policies, communicate accurate information with constituents, and advocate on behalf of our district when necessary. It is critical for trustees to understand public financing, and be knowledgeable on how funding formulas and state legislation impact our school district. I have experience engaging with policymakers in Sacramento and Washington D.C., and will leverage that experience to ensure that our students' needs are met.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Software Engineer, Intuit (2017-current)

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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