Butte County Office of Education Trustee Mike Walsh Ascends to the Presidency of the California School Boards Association
Walsh is joined by Azusa Unified School District Trustee Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez as the new Vice President and La Mesa Spring Valley School District Trustee and National School Board Association Director Emma Turner as the new President-elect
SACRAMENTO, Calif., (Dec. 6, 2017) – Butte County Office of Education Trustee Mike Walsh has taken the reins as President of the California School Boards Association, a group representing nearly 1,000 California school districts and county offices of education.
A seven-year veteran of the Butte County Office of Education Board, Walsh was elected to CSBA’s Delegate Assembly in 2010 and elected to the organization’s Board of Directors in 2011. During his time at CSBA, Walsh has served ably on numerous committees, including chairing the Legislative Committee and on the Executive Committee as Vice President and President-elect.
“I’m honored to serve in the office of CSBA President and expand the work this organization has done to strengthen schools and improve outcomes for public school students,” Walsh said. “Our Board of Directors has laid out a wonderful template for where we need to focus our efforts with the new strategic initiatives we are undertaking, our focus on achieving full and fair funding for public schools, increasing access to professional development and membership training opportunities for school board members and deepening our grassroots advocacy statewide. It’s an exciting time at CSBA.”
Walsh is a 1982 graduate of Las Plumas High School where he recorded perfect attendance while distinguishing himself in track and field, wrestling, football and student government. In a development that foreshadowed his eventual election as CSBA President, Walsh immersed himself in Associated Student Body (ASB) activities, serving as freshman class president, vice-president and president of the sophomore class, junior class president, and, finally, as president of the schoolwide ASB during his senior year.
That experience helped influence Walsh to pursue a career in education. In 1992, Walsh was hired as a Drop-out Prevention Services Coordinator for the Butte County Office of Education (BCOE). In this role, he identified high-risk students and created plans to help address their specific needs and goals. Walsh’s next job in education came as a Director of Youth Development Services for a team-building company located in Chico, Calif., where he was responsible for developing and staffing team building programs for school-aged participants. During this period, Walsh also returned to the Las Plumas High School campus where he was the varsity assistant coach for both wrestling and track and field.
Since 2000, Walsh has been a Leadership Facilitator for the California Association of Student Councils, where he works with both middle school and high school students on developing their personal skill sets as leaders during summer leadership camps for ASB officers throughout the State of California. In 2007, he added another dimension to his work as a Leadership Facilitator for the National Student Leadership Conference at University of California, Berkeley, an annual Career Exploration Camp for students considering careers in medicine, engineering and communications.
In 2005, Walsh co-founded Beacon Results, an organizational growth and change management firm that works primarily with school districts and nonprofits to help them develop and align their strategic plans. It was also during this time that he was inspired to complete his own college education and returned to school at Ashford University and graduated with B.A. and M.A. degrees in Organizational Management and Organizational Leadership, respectively. He also served as Executive Director of the Oroville Economic Development Corporation and completed a three-year term as a member of the Butte Community College Foundation Board of Directors.
In addition to his service to state school boards, Walsh is also on major committees of the National School Boards Association and has written and published multiple articles focused on equity and improving outcomes for underserved student groups. Walsh’s current volunteer activities include working one day each semester at Las Plumas High School teaching history students how particular personality traits can be a predictor of behaviors in leaders, a class he also teaches to Honors Engineering students at UC Berkeley.
Walsh will be serving on CSBA’s Executive Committee with two new colleagues. Elected as CSBA officers for 2018 were Azusa USD Trustee Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, the new Vice President, and La Mesa Spring Valley SD Trustee and National School Boards Association Director Emma Turner, the new President-elect. Susan Henry of the Huntington Beach Union High School District will serve as Immediate Past President.