The Story Behind

Isabel earned a professional bachelor’s in architecture in Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela) and a master’s in architecture and environmental design at UC Berkeley’s School of Architecture, a computer analyst/programming minor (Universidad Jose Maria Vargas). Among other pre and post-graduate studies and certifications, her studies helped her build and complement her love and knowledge of climate awareness through design and social involvement. She has decades of experience in architecture, broadcasting, and various leadership roles. She has lately worked as an associate instructor in architecture for community colleges and has worked designing, building, and advocating for a greener world locally and abroad for many years.

As a Designer, Isabel is committed to sustainable principles and advocates for a healthier building and natural environment. She knows that healthy buildings make healthy people, and a healthy environment encourages better education and a sustainable world where we can all thrive for future generations. Over many years, she has worked locally and abroad designing and building residential, commercial, civic, hospitality, and industrial buildings. 

As a parent, she learned how significant community involvement in education is; her extensive participation in the classroom and innovation around educational experiences helped her focus on the next phase of her life. 

As an educator, Isabel has worked to help youth develop their skills and achieve their best. As a community college instructor, she found that many minorities, for one reason or another, populate these institutions, and she has enjoyed learning their stories and supporting them in their path. She enjoys passing her passion for architecture, design, sustainable principles, art, green buildings, urban sustainability, and social justice to the next generation through everything she does.

As a Sunnyvale Active Citizen and Community Volunteer, Isabel appreciates the importance of community participation and engagement in the future of our institutions. She has participated in school activities, parent participation schooling, hands-on project-based learning activities, cub scout leader, assistant scoutmaster, and after-school teaching, and led and coached teams in various educational and sports activities throughout the years. 

As a school board member for the last four years, since Isabel started as a public official, she has chaired every school board committee. She has also been the Board Clerk; now, she is starting her second year as a president. She is always asking how the policy/action is equitable and how we can do it better, and working under the goal that everything we do will be the cleanest, most equitable, and most efficient answer.

Lately at the Board

For the Santa Clara CSBA, she has chaired the Hoffman Awards for Excellence in Education thrice and has been a reader once. She is now the vice-chair of the Legislation Action Committee, joining all county school boards to advocate for public education and more resources for our schools on a bigger scale. In the same way, she is the CSBA Delegate Assembly representative of our State Region 20, representing the school interests at the state level. She is part of the Sunnyvale Education Foundation’s executive board and a director at large for the Board of Directors of the state-wide “California Latino School Boards Association”.

She has represented her school board nationally and state-wide while advocating for public education at the “Coast to Coast” CSBA event in Washington, D.C., twice and in the annual bus to education to the state capital. She has also been at the State Capitol, representing her region as delegate assembly and representing the interests of every child in the state. She has been active at several PTAs and other school and local associations and has worked with community activists and organizations to eradicate childhood homelessness. She has also worked as a co-chair of the school bond measure for the district school facilities. 

And last but not least

Her hobbies include hiking, reading/listening to books, writing, playing various musical instruments, singing, making pottery, sculpting, cooking, baking, sculpting sugar arts, camping, doing archery, kayaking, and finding new excuses to enjoy new activities with her sons and whatever new hobby they may pick up. 

Isabel believes that community activists and volunteering are one of many ways to represent our community and work towards the goals we all deem dearest and that representation matters. She has been able to work directly on these beliefs as part of her current work with the Sunnyvale School Board of Education, the California Latino School Board Association, SCCSBA, CSBA, Boy Scouts of America, and her work with unhoused families, among others. 

Education is one of those unique spaces where we can work to build the future we want to live in. Every child represents the world we will be living in soon. We must never forget that education is the great equalizer, the key to a functioning society and a true democracy. We must give it all, as the stakes are high.

Isabel Jubes-Flamerich