Sep. 18—Jorge Chavez has announced his candidacy for the Boulder Valley school board's District G seat in November's election.

Chavez is a human development and family relations associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Denver. As a parent volunteer in a variety of roles, he said in a news release, he "recognizes the challenges facing BVSD and also its potential."

Chavez is one of three candidates vying for the District G seat. Also running are Stuart Lord, the CEO of Delta Developmental, and Anil Pesaramelli, a software engineer at Kaiser Permanente. Incumbent Richard Garcia is term limited. School board members represent different geographic areas but are elected by voters throughout the entire district.

Chavez has one child at Manhattan Middle School and twins at Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer.

He has served as the chairperson of Pioneer's School Accountability Committee for thee years. He became the District Accountability Committee, or DAC, representative for Pioneer in 2019, joined the executive committee of DAC the next year and has served as the chairperson for two years. He also has been a member of the district's Latino Parent Advisory Council since 2020.

Through his volunteer work, he has met with families, teachers and administrators to learn about the needs of families and educators. He also has advised school district leaders on budget, policy, data transparency, unified improvement plans, diversity, equity and inclusion, mental health resources, school safety and climate, school discipline, and long-term planning, according to the news release.

Chavez noted he came to the United States when he was 5, not knowing a single word of English, and was fortunate to attend a school with resources to support him and teachers who encouraged and believed in him.

He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at the University of Nevada, then a master's degree and doctorate in criminal justice at the State University of New York at Albany.

More information on his candidacy is available in English and Spanish at jorgeforbvsd.com.