1. List who has been compensated to provide services to your campaign. List your campaign managers. Note current cash on hand in your campaign account, and your donations received and spent. You only need to note figures that are not included yet on campaign finance filings.
All the people on my campaign team are volunteers. I want to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart. My campaign manager is Mr. Ming Du. We have received around $22000 donations, have spent about $10000, and we have around $12000 in the bank. We will be preparing a campaign finance report. Please refer to our campaign report that is due on April 28 for the most accurate, complete, and upto-date information.
2. List organizations/groups/committees (both education-related and not) of which you are an official member.
BOE Operating Budget Review Committee (OBRC)
River Hill High School PTSA, Folly Quarter Middle School PTA
Chinese American Parents Association Howard County (CAPA HC)
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) Howard County Branch
International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE)
International Chinese Statistical Association (ICSA)
3. In what areas of public education do you refuse to compromise, due to strong beliefs? How would you make changes in these areas? Give examples of how you collaborated and compromised with colleagues who disagreed with you.
I do not support feel-good policies that have no proven positive effect. One example is last year’s redistricting process that was based on inaccurate data, flawed analysis, and not well-supported assumptions. I am a firm believer of evidence-based decision making.
I would make changes by using my statistical expertise to obtain accurate information needed for decision making. Examples include improving student enrollment predication model, designing effective surveys and increasing response rate to truly understand student needs.
My work at the federal public health agency involves long-term interagency collaborations with people from different disciplines. We are using complicated real-world data to inform regulatory decisions, and it is common that people have different opinions and perspectives. The way I handle the situations is to have open communications, be professional, and don’t take disagreement personal. Everyone has opportunities to speak, and we all listen to each other’s perspective. Many times, disagreement provides opportunities for improvement and progress. Through effective communication, we end up with a deeper understanding of the data and a better solution.
4. Give examples in your personal or professional life that demonstrate your willingness to hold people accountable and include transparency for the community.
I work as a statistician, and I expect receiving accurate data and results because it is very important for decision making. When I detect errors in the work that other people provided, I want to make sure it is not a blaming game, because everyone could make mistakes. The goal is to fix the error and improve the process. The team will work together to find out the cause of the error. We then fix the error, and discuss how to improve the process to prevent similar mistakes in the future. It is important to keep the standard high and communicate the expectations clearly. At the same time, we also need to foster longterm collaborative relationship, work as a team, practice solution-based mindset, and avoid blame culture. For published work, we send out a correction notice to keep the process transparent to the community and all stake-holders.
5. For incumbents, what do you feel is your legacy you have left so far on the HCPSS? For other candidates, what do you want your legacy to be and why are you the best choice to create it?
It is my first time running for any office. I have never thought of my legacy because running for the BOE is not about me, it is about preparing children for their bright future: improving their academic achievement, physical well-being, as well as social-emotional readiness.
I plan to bring common sense and evidence-based decision making to all important decisions that will occur throughout the years of my term.The BOE should make decisions based on solid data and evidence, make sure benefits outweigh risks, consult all stakeholders, and put wellbeing of our students at the center of the decision making. I am the best choice because my everyday work is to use real-world data to inform public health decision making. My statistical expertise will help detect data and analysis errors, obtain accurate data, conduct appropriate analysis, make sense of available information and provide valid interpretation. Public health and public education have many similarities. Both promote the common good, protect vulnerable population, and help people thrive. My statistical expertise, public health agency experience, and my perspectives as a mother and an educator will help me serve on the BOE.