Fullerton School District

FSD Board of Trustees

Aaruni Thakur

President

Aaruni Thakur - President

Trustee Area 1

First Elected: 12/11/2018
Term Date: 2022 - 2026

1401 W Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 447-7410

aaruni_thakur@myfsd.org

(Please be sure to include your e-mail address if a response is wanted)

Aaruni Thakur is a husband, father and attorney who grew up in Fullerton. He attended Orangethorpe Elementary and Nicolas Junior High. Aaruni and his wife, Pamela, met at Sunny Hills High School. They returned to Fullerton after UCLA and USD Law to begin their careers, raise a family, and be involved in the community. Their children attend Raymond Elementary.
Leonel Talavera

Vice President

Leonel Talavera - Vice President

Trustee Area 5

First Elected: 12/15/2020
Term Date: 2021-2024

1401 W Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 447-7410

leonel_talavera@myfsd.org

(Please be sure to include your e-mail address if a response is requested.)

Leonel along with his wife Emmy have called Fullerton their home since 2010. Leonel grew up in La Puente most of his life and after meeting Emmy who grew up in Orange County, they knew Fullerton was the perfect place to raise their family. They have two sons, Gavin and Joshua. Gavin is finishing up his elementary years at Golden Hill Elementary. Joshua, who is just starting off his elementary journey, is a student at Pacific Drive School enrolled in the Dual Language Academy.

The Talavera family is passionate about baseball and the outdoors. Most time spent outside of work and school is spent on the baseball field. Leonel coaches both boys’ teams and has throughout their lives.

During the day through his work with Habitat for Humanity OC, Leonel encourages local stakeholders to collaborate to strengthen community assets and improve quality of life. He spends most of his time in the Woodcrest and Richman Park neighborhoods. Leonel is an advocate to engage residents, nourish positive interaction, and empower the community to make sustainable changes and become resident leaders that can advocate for themselves.

Leonel Talavera proudly joins the Fullerton School District Board of Trustees effective December 15, 2020.
Hilda Sugarman

Clerk

Hilda Sugarman - Clerk

Trustee Area 2

First Elected: 12/1/1996

Term Date: 2020-2024

1401 W Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 447-7410

hilda_sugarman@myfsd.org

(Please be sure to include your e-mail address if a response is requested.)

Born and educated in San Francisco, Hilda attended Lowell High School, UC Berkeley and San Francisco State. Hilda literally married the boy up the block, Michael.

Hilda taught a few years while her husband was training. Her teaching experiences were in Hunters’ Point, Harlem, and Washington, DC. She loved it.

Mike, her husband, is an Internist/Rheumatoligist here in Fullerton. He is also President of the St. Jude Heritage Medical Group. They have two sons, Jason and Steven. The boys attended Richman, Laguna Road, Parks and Sunny Hills High Schools in Fullerton. Hilda was PTA President and Site Council President of these schools and President of Fullerton PTA Council. She also was team mom for the sport teams of the boys and sat on the Boards of the Fullerton Rangers, Boy Scouts and Golden Hill Little League. Mom Hilda has chaperoned trips to Washington, DC, Sacramento, US High School Select athletes to Russia, and Little League Players to their World Series. When the boys left for college, Hilda was on their college parent groups and even acted as a team mom. But that wasn’t the same as working here in Fullerton.

In 1996 Hilda was elected to the Fullerton School District Board of Trustees. She led the successful Bond Drive for improving school facilities. Some know her as a force for 21st century education and implementation of schools of choice in the Fullerton School District. Hilda serves on the Orange County School Board Committee. She also is an active member of the All the Arts for All the Kids Foundation, the Fullerton Excellence in Education Foundation, and the Assistance League of Fullerton. Nationally she serves on the Curriki Foundation and Project Inkwell.

The one thing that each of these activities have in common is their focus on children. Improving the quality of life and education of children is her passion.

Beverly Berryman

Member

Beverly Berryman - Member

Trustee Area 3

First Elected: 12/19/2016

Term Date: 2022 - 2026

1401 W Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 447-7410

beverly_berryman@myfsd.org

(Please be sure to include your e-mail address if a response is wanted)

Beverly Berryman was elected to the Fullerton School Board in November 2006. She has lived in Fullerton with her husband Kelly and her 2 children, Cory and Andrea since 1996. Beverly grew up in Pasadena, moved to Fullerton when she and Kelly were married and since then has lived in Huntington Beach, Pleasant Hill and Burlington, Connecticut. She and her family returned to Fullerton and her children attended Acacia Elementary, Ladera Vista Junior High and Troy High School.

Beverly has always actively participated in all aspects of the schools that her children have attended, actively being involved in the PTA and School Site Council. In addition to advocating for children at their school, she has been an active Girl Scout Leader, a Grade Level advisor for the Fullerton Chapter of the National Charity League, and is co-founder of the Crittenton Cookie Mom Auxiliary.

Development of children has always been Beverly’s focus. Beverly has participated in numerous Fullerton Elementary and High School district committees and study groups giving her insight into our student’s well-rounded careers – from kindergarten through high school. This includes 2 years serving as Fullerton Council PTA president.

Beverly is thrilled to serve as an elected representative for the community of Fullerton on the FSD School Board.

Ruthi Hanchett

Member

Ruthi Hanchett - Member
Trustee Area 4

First Elected: 12/13/2022

Term Date: 2022-2026

1401 W Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 447-7410

ruthi_hanchett@myfsd.org

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Ruthi Hanchett has worked as a global child advocate and human trafficking expert for nearly 20 years.

Ruthi spent a decade with World Vision International as a policy expert and advocate, working with the UN, World Bank, and global leaders, for children’s education, protection, and human rights. There she designed and led global initiatives to increase children’s voice and participation in decisions that affected their well-being.

For the last decade Ruthi has lived in Fullerton and focused her work locally. She is an Adjunct Professor of Human Trafficking at Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice. She stays busy teaching and training students, parents, and community members on how to keep children safe from abuse, starting the Fullerton Human Trafficking Partnership, and coaching a youth-led organization called Live2Free, that mobilizes college students and high schoolers to fight human trafficking. She is especially proud of a program she developed in partnership with Santa Ana Valley High School, Project Kinship, the OCDE, and Vanguard University, to empower vulnerable teens to address human trafficking in their community.

Ruthi has served as a volunteer in many FSD initiatives and programs, including as a PTA leader at Raymond Elementary, where her two daughters attend the Dual Language Academy in Spanish. She has served on FSD Diversity Equity and Inclusion Sub-Committees, DLA committees, the Wellness Advocacy Council and more. She is married to Matt and a proud mom to two students in the Fullerton School District. Ruthi looks forward to partnering with the FSD community to serve our students, teachers, staff, and families and welcomes collaborative input.

FSD Board of Trustees

Aaruni Thakur

Leonel Talavera

Hilda Sugarman

Beverly Berryman

Ruthi Hanchett