Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul

Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul

Education

High school

La Cueva High School

Bachelor's

Brown University

Other

University of New Mexico

Personal

Profession

Socio-ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, writer, educator, vocalist, musician, and performance artist

Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul was a candidate for District 7 representative on the Albuquerque Public Schools school board in New Mexico. Pleasant-Soul withdrew her candidacy before the by-district general election on February 7, 2017.

Pleasant-Soul previously ran for the District 4 seat on the board. She was defeated in the general election on February 3, 2015. In her 2015 campaign, she went by the name Sina-Aurelia Pleasant Soul-Bowe.

Biography

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Following her graduation from La Cueva High School, Pleasant-Soul earned degrees from Brown University and the University of New Mexico and studied at Harvard University, Julliard, and Berklee College of Music.

Pleasant-Soul is a wife and mother, socio-ethnomusicologist, educator, lecturer at the University of New Mexico, curriculum creator, diversity specialist, professional vocalist and musician, 501(c)(3) founder, and CEO of Roots International Sustainable Enterprises, Inc. At the time of her candidacy, Pleasant-Soul was performing with Sweetlife, lecturing on leadership and collective impact, and touring with Dancing Earth, a Native American contemporary indigenous dance company. She also served as the United States Cultural Ambassador to New Zealand in 2013.

Pleasant-Soul previously taught native literature, ELA, and indigenous music and dance at the Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque Public Schools. She is also the author of a diversity directive on "Critical Cultural Consciousness," education reform curriculum and a "Safe Spaces for Children" bill.

Pleasant-Soul and her husband have two sons.

Elections

2017

See also: Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2017)

Four of the seven seats on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on February 7, 2017. In his bid for re-election to District 3, incumbent Lorenzo Garcia defeated challengers Ali Ennenga, Amy Legant, and Charles White. District 5 incumbent Steven Michael Quezada and District 6 incumbent Don Duran did not file to run for re-election, leaving both seats open for newcomers. Four candidates—Annie Bell-Rahman, Rachel Gonzales, Kayla Marshall, and Candelaria Patterson—ran for the District 5 seat, and Patterson won the race. Six candidates—Abbas Ali Akhil, Elizabeth Armijo, C. Douglas Brown, Melissa Finch, Paula Maes, and Paul Sievert—ran for the District 6 seat, and Armijo won. The race for the District 7 seat featured incumbent David Peercy and challengers Ian Burch, William Steinberg, and Brian Tierney. Peercy won re-election to the board. A total of six candidates withdrew from the race before their names were put on the ballot: R. Jason Vaillancourt in District 3, Than-Lan Sena, Alex Villanueva, and Anne Young in District 5, Stephen Verchinski in District 6, and Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul in District 7.

2015

See also: Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2015)

The election in Albuquerque Public Schools featured three of seven total seats up for general election on February 3, 2015. The seats from Districts 1, 2 and 4 were up for re-election.

Incumbent Analee Maestas faced two challengers for the District 1 seat, Colt Balok and Madelyn Jones, and won re-election. In District 2, incumbent Kathy Korte faced only one challenger, Peggy L. Muller-Aragon. Muller-Aragon defeated Korte to take a seat on the board. District 4 incumbent Martin Esquivel did not seek re-election, leaving the seat open for a newcomer. Five candidates, Sina-Aurelia Pleasant Soul-Bowe, Mark Gilboard, John Jake Lopez, Charles MacQuigg and Barbara Petersen, filed to run for that open seat. James Osborn also originally filed to run for the District 4 seat, but he withdrew his candidacy. Petersen defeated her fellow candidates to become the next District 4 representative on the board.

Results

Albuquerque Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Barbara Petersen	63.4%	1,877
	Nonpartisan	Mark Gilboard	17.8%	526
	Nonpartisan	John Jake Lopez	13%	386
	Nonpartisan	Sina-Aurelia Pleasant Soul-Bowe	3.5%	104
	Nonpartisan	Charles MacQuigg	2.3%	69
Total Votes				2,962
Source: Abbey Smith, "Email communication with the Bernalillo County Bureau of Elections," February 26, 2015

Funding

The New Mexico Secretary of State's Office requires school board candidates in districts with an enrollment of 12,000 students or more to file an annual report each year. Candidates running for a seat on this district's school board had to file that annual report by April 13, 2015.

Endorsements

Pleasant-Soul received endorsements from:

• New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas (D)
• Former New Mexico Treasurer James B. Lewis (D)
• Mayor of Albuquerque Richard Berry (R)

Campaign themes

2017

Pleasant-Soul said the following were her main campaign issues before she withdrew from the race.

“	The importance of transparency and integrity of the board with budget and hiring practices The importance of approving K-12 Ethnic Studies curriculum for diversification of texts Safe Space and Anti-Bullying policies to protect all students, parents, teachers, administrators. Support of the ATF Living Contract, equitable pay, rights, respect and opportunity for all employees of the APS School District and the Albuquerque Teacher's Federation embodied in the notion that an educational system based on the involvement of teachers in the decision-making process will lead to the highest quality of education, enhance the practice of teaching and foster human dignity for all at the school site while creating an atmosphere which promotes professional growth.	”
—Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul (2017)

See also

• Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico
• Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2017)
• Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2015)
• New Mexico school board elections attract numerous educators as candidates (January 23, 2015)
• New faces to join all of New Mexico's largest school district boards (February 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Albuquerque Public Schools
• 2015 Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• LinkedIn page
• Personal website