ABOUT CRAIG

Biography / Leadership

The son of a salesman and a civil servant, Santa Clara County Board of Education Member Craig Mann learned some of his most important life lessons from his parents. They taught him and his siblings about the power of education, the dignity of an honest day's work and the importance of being true to oneself and serving one's community.

Those lessons served Craig well. After high school, he earned a degree in Business Administration; Management from San Jose State University and later a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

While spending 20 years working in some of Silicon Valley's most well known companies, Craig also became heavily involved in the local community. He has served on the Board of the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA), Workforce Silicon Valley, the Channel 11 Community Advisory Board, and the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative.

Craig also served as a Chief of Staff for a San Jose City Councilmember. He led a staff of public servants in the pursuit of a more prosperous and safer community for all. Craig knows how City Hall works.

In addition, Craig has been active in local, state and national initiatives as a member of the California K-16 Master Plan Workforce Preparation Working Group, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group - Education Committee, and 100 Black Men of America - Silicon Valley chapter. Craig served on the San Jose Independent Police Auditor Advisory Committee, Chaired the San Jose Human Rights Commission, and graduated from the San Jose Citizen's Police Academy. He is a member of the District 8 Community Roundtable and La Raza Roundtable of San Jose.

In June 1998, Craig was appointed to the East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees and was elected in November 1998 to complete the unexpired two-year term. Subsequently, he was re-elected two times in 2000 and 2004. On the Board, Craig was an innovative leader and a strong advocate for academic excellence, budget accountability and making certain students had the best chance for a superb education. Both of Craig's daughters are graduates of East Side High Schools.

For his support of our local community, Craig has been the recipient of several community service awards including the 2003 Distinguished Service in the field of Education Award from the National Association of Black School Educators, the 2001 Dr. Jose Rizal Community Hero Award awarded by Filipino American Development Council, the 1998 Citizen of the Year Award sponsored by Union Bank of California & KQED, as well as the 1997 MBA of the Year Community Service Award, National Black MBA Association.

Elected as a Trustee of the Santa Clara County Board of Education in 2006, Craig currently serves as the body's Vice President.

Craig Mann is married to Leila Welch, a Principal in the Evergreen Elementary School District and has two adult daughters.

Craig's Leadership

Biographical Summary