Sabrena Rodriguez has been a dedicated advocate for public education, and the students it serves, for over 30 years.  A trained conservation biologist, Ms Rodriguez has worked with communities in Central and South America, Southern Africa and Europe to develop sustainable economic ventures that benefit both local people and wildlife.  She oversaw the development of tropical forest conservation curriculum for the Rainforest Alliance and their partner organizations in biodiversity priority regions around the world, and managed a micro loan program that supported indigenous women small business owners in reaching value-added markets in the US and Europe with sustainable products. Ms Rodriguez was first elected to the Ventura Unified School District board of education in 2016, after more than a decade as a devoted parent and community volunteer.  Since that time she has served 4 terms as Board President.  At the local level she has been deeply involved in VUSD’s Ethnic and Social Justice initiative as a founding member of the committee, a longtime advocate for the Arts and a vocal proponent of mental health access for all students. She is active in statewide educational issues, having served two years as a California School Board Association (CSBA) Delegate and currently serves as a member of the CSBA Board of Directors representing Region 11 (Ventura and Santa Barbara counties).  She also serves as the 2024 CSBA Finance Committee Chair.  Ms Rodriguez has been an active member of the CSBA Climate Change Task Force, the newly formed Artificial Intelligence Task Force and the Education Workforce Housing Cohort.  She holds a BS in Biology and Ecology from the University of California, Irvine, and a MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, Canterbury in the UK.  She is the proud mom to two adult daughters and enjoys traveling to new places with her husband, a pediatric hospitalist.