Passion For Public Service – Maimona Afzal Berta

PEN Silicon Valley is hosting a series of webinar to highlight candidate who have dedicated their time to serving communities they live in. This is an opportunity to meet the candidates and learn what drives them to public service and how they aspire to make positive impact in the communities they serve.

Maimona helped develop and implement inclusive curriculum and helped craft anti-bullying policies. She advocated for state legislation and trained educators on fostering safer schools. Witnessing inequity as a special education teacher and experiencing injustice as a visible muslim compelled her to run for a school board vacancy where she became the only woman to serve on the school board at the time. She won her election in November 2018, and is now the first hijabi Muslim and the youngest woman serving as an elected official in San Jose and all of Santa Clara County. In her role as school board member, Maimona oversees a $100 million dollar budget and advocates for the best interest of 7,000+ students in the district. Maimona is uncontested in the 2020 election. Hence, she will be re-elected to serve another four year term.

For more information visit her website: https://www.votemaimona.com

Moderator:

Areeba Yaseen, Communications Director at Georgette Gomez for Congress

Areeba Yasin is currently a Junior at American University in Washington D.C. where she studies Economics and Political Science. She currently sits on the board of D.C. College Democrats as their Inclusivity and Accessibility Director where she works to improve the everyday dynamics of the organization to create equitable spaces for all identities and backgrounds. Additionally, Areeba serves as the Communications Director at Georgette Gomez for Congress, where the candidate is running for a seat in the United States House of Representatives to represent California’s 53rd district. While Areeba has certainly focused her time as an undergraduate student acquiring public policy knowledge and experience, ultimately she hopes to create a non-profit that helps K-12 public schools across the country reshape their curriculum to better serve, uplift and represent students from all walks of life in order to create a more inclusive future.

Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/areeba-yasin/