I am recommending Kim Marra Stephenson for Pleasant Valley School Board.

I met Kim last year when she was recruited to help the Ventura County Commission for Women and several other women's organizations plan, develop and hold the Women's Economic Forum held Oct. 14. She didn't need to be coddled and immediately took on a leadership role with our team of women.

She began by volunteering to work on the development of the Web site and agreed to join forces with the marketing team. Through her efforts in recruiting and coordinating resources, and her direct involvement in developing and editing, the Web site was planned, designed and installed with pages that are user-friendly and full of key information. This effort took quite some time; however, she didn't stop there.

She saw the need for a one-person targeted effort to recruit potential keynote speakers, and she enthusiastically took on this project. The candidates were interviewed and a keynoter selected by our team. She worked on planning the concept and objectives for the program and panel and helped in selecting the panelists. She served in many other areas, including assisting others with their projects. All this she did while caring for her two young children, teaching, and acting as a leader in the American Association of University Women.

I know that Kim had the opportunity for a wonderful education starting here locally in the Pleasant Valley School District, and what stands out to me is that she is bringing that education back home along with her dedication, tenacity, commitment to her values, her accessibility and her pleasantness, even under stress. If she's offering you her services, I would not hesitate for a second to use them.

Pleasant Valley deserves a school board trustee named Kim Marra Stephenson.

— Lee Riggan, Thousand Oaks
(The writer is with the Ventura County Commission for Women, the Promotoras y Promotores Foundation and the Business and Professional Women of Conejo Valley. — Editor)