Meet Our Board
Michelle Rivas - President
Michelle Rivas - President
Michelle Rivas - President
Area Two (West Foothill Farms and North Highlands)
Current Term - July 2022 through June 2026
A product of our local schools, Michelle Rivas attended Frontier Elementary and graduated from Foothill High School. Trustee Rivas has been involved in public education for over 15 years, as a parent volunteer as well as an elected member of our local school boards. She served on the Rio Linda Union School District Board of Trustees from 2005-2008 and the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees from 2008-2012. She received the Masters in Governance Award from the California School Boards Association in 2012. Trustee Rivas also serves on the Sacramento County Public Health Advisory Board, North Highlands/Foothill Farms Community Planning Advisory Council and the Sunrise Recreation and Park District Advisory Board. She is also involved in Neighborhood Watch. She has been recognized by then Pro Tem Senator Darrell Steinberg as well as the Sacramento City Council for her commitment to public education. In addition to her community work, she has over 20 years of government relations experience and currently serves as Vice President, Center for Advocacy for a statewide healthcare association.
MICHAEL BAKER - VICE PRESIDENT
MICHAEL BAKER - VICE PRESIDENT
MICHAEL BAKER - VICE PRESIDENT
Area One (Old Foothill Farms and North Highlands)
Current Term - July 2020 through June 2024
Michael Baker and his wife grew up in Twin Rivers Unified schools where their two children now attend. Trustee Baker has lived in the community for 41 years and is a graduate of Foothill High School where he was active in student leadership and JROTC. He is the Director of Compliance and Strategy for an emergency medical agency in northern California. Trustee Baker serves as the President of the Old Foothill Farms Neighborhood Association, Vice President of the Foothill High School Alumni Association and Chairman on the Foothill High School Hall of Fame Committee. Trustee Baker is a proud alumnus of Foothill High where his son now attends. First elected to the Twin Rivers School Board in 2012, Trustee Baker felt the need to serve in the district and community that helped raise him. Trustee Baker had been a boys and girls basketball coach at Foothill for over 10 years. In his spare time Trustee Baker enjoys racquetball and golf.
CHRISTINE JEFFERSON - CLERK
CHRISTINE JEFFERSON - CLERK
CHRISTINE JEFFERSON - CLERK
Area Three (Del Paso Heights, McClellan Park, North Highlands)
Current Term - July 2020 through June 2024
Christine Jefferson is a lifelong resident of Sacramento and was raised in Del Paso Heights. Trustee Jefferson, her mother, father and daughter graduated from Grant Union High School. Trustee Jefferson worked in the Audio Visual Department in Grant Joint Union High School District/Twin Rivers Unified for 37 years. Trustee Jefferson retired from Twin Rivers Unified School District/Grant Joint Union High School District. Trustee Jefferson served as Chief Job Steward for her union. She was also one of two District mediators for classified and certificated employees.
Trustee Jefferson has spent many decades working and serving in the Del Paso Heights community. She served as secretary on the Grant Little League. She served two terms as a cheerleader coach to many students at Grant Union High School. She served on the UCAN Board helping to promote students going to college. Trustee Jefferson has also volunteered for over 20 years at the TLC Soup Kitchen helping to feed the community. Along with her husband, Trustee Jefferson helped to form the Del Paso Heights Community Association. She has been an advocate for a host of parents dealing with IEPs. Trustee Jefferson served alongside her husband as a volunteer chaplain at Folsom State Prison for two years. Trustee Jefferson is a photographer and is best known to her community as the “picture lady”—she has taken thousands of pictures and shared them for free with her community. Trustee Jefferson is very connected to her community. She is a community activist for civil rights and education.
STACEY E. BASTIAN
STACEY E. BASTIAN
STACEY E. BASTIAN
Area Four (Elverta and Rio Linda)
Current Term - July 2022 through June 2026
Stacey Bastian, Twin Rivers’ newest trustee, has been very involved in local services and community organizations even prior to her role on the Twin Rivers school board, including serving in the position of vice chair of the Rio Linda Elverta Recreation and Parks District. She was instrumental in saving one of the neighborhood schools, coordinating meetings with parents and acting as a voice for the community. She has a history of working closely with our district, serving on the 7-11 Committee to assist in making decisions on the sale of unused district property in order to generate revenue. She has also served on the PTA at Westside Elementary School and volunteered for numerous events at Rio Linda High School. She was appointed in the role of trustee representing Area 4 during the 2021-2022 school year and was elected to the position in June 2022. In addition to her proven record of public service, Trustee Bastian is committed to ensuring students at all our schools are loved and supported.
BASIM ELKARRA
BASIM ELKARRA
BASIM ELKARRA
Area Five (North Natomas and Robla)
Current Term - July 2020 through June 2024
Basim Elkarra and his wife live in Regency Park with their four children. Trustee Elkarra has served on numerous committees in the greater Sacramento area and is currently on the School Site Council at Regency Park Elementary. For more than a decade, Trustee Elkarra has worked as a nonprofit executive and consultant. He founded a youth leadership program at the California State Capitol that has graduated over 500 high school students. Trustee Elkarra also organizes an annual college and career fair out of California State University, Sacramento. He consulted for the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and has trained law enforcement agencies throughout the Sacramento Valley. In 2015, the Sacramento City Council appointed Trustee Elkarra to the Community Police Commission. He holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. Trustee Elkarra is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum and the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program.
LINDA FOWLER, J.D.
LINDA FOWLER, J.D.
LINDA FOWLER, J.D.
Current Term - July 2020 through June 2024
Linda Fowler served over 25 years as a former Civil Rights Investigative Auditor with the Office of Attorney General, Department of Justice, and as a Compliance Officer with the California Gambling Control Commission. She was elected in 1971 to the former North Sacramento Elementary School District Board of Trustees and served on that board until she was elected to the Twin Rivers Board in 2008 when the district was newly unified. Trustee Fowler majored in Business Administration and has a Law Degree. She received a Masters in Governance from the California School Board Association and also has been board president three times during her tenure since the Twin Rivers’ district was unified.
Trustee Fowler has received honors for her work in education, including former Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg’s Legislature 2002 Woman of the Year; Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ Human Rights Award in Education; and the Distinguished Award for Dedication to Education from State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O‘Connell, California Department of Education. In addition to raising her own children, Trustee Fowler opened her home to several homeless children, never accepted financial assistance for them and has always kept focused on education for all children. She formerly owned a mid-size commercial printing and graphics company and generously sponsored education programs in area school districts.
Rebecca Sandoval
Rebecca Sandoval
Rebecca Sandoval
Area Six (Dos Rios, Gardenland, Northgate and South Natomas)
Current Term - July 2022 through June 2026
Rebecca Sandoval is a lifelong resident of Sacramento and was raised in the Gardenland and Northgate communities. Trustee Sandoval and her daughter both attended Twin Rivers schools, and she currently has two grandchildren enrolled in the district. Trustee Sandoval received her Associate of Arts Degree from Sacramento City College and retired after 3 decades of public service with the State of California. She has served for six years as Trustee of Area 6 on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board, as vice-president for one term and President for two terms. She is an elected delegate for the California School Board Association and has received her Masters in Governance, providing her the knowledge needed to be a more effective & efficient school board member. She has sat on various policy drafting district committees, working alongside community leaders, law enforcement and educators on matters that are governed by the California Education Code.
Trustee Sandoval is very connected to the community she represents on the Board. She has collaborated in many efforts working for social justice in the greater Sacramento area and has most recently been recognized by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the City of Sacramento for her role as a community activist in civil rights and education. Trustee Sandoval is proud of the many positive changes that have occurred since the early days of the Twin Rivers Unified School District and is dedicated to continuing district progress, ensuring equity and access for all students and doing everything possible to create a climate of excellence. She continues to value diversity, welcome the input of students, parents, staff, businesses and the community, and remain fiercely focused on the needs of all the children of our district.
