The Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education has opened applications to replace Director Ana Vasudeo, who vacated her board seat July 1 after being elected to the Alameda County Board of Education.
Elected to the board in 2020 and reelected in 2024, Vasudeo also served as the president. The school board will select applicants to publicly interview by Aug. 5, with an appointment expected later this summer.
“Coming in during the pandemic, I’m really proud that I hit the ground running,” Vasudeo said. “One of the first things that I worked on was state Senate Bill 1479. That required schools to provide COVID-19 testing plans.”
During her tenure, Vasudeo has spearheaded initiatives to close educational gaps for Latine students. Of more than 9,000 BUSD enrollees, Latine and Hispanic students remain the largest minority, at roughly 22%.
“Being Latina myself, a first-gen kid, having grown up as an English language learner, (it was) super important to me that we had both the policy and funding in place to make a positive educational change and impact,” Vasudeo said.
Vasudeo ran for the Alameda County Board of Education after learning of Joaquin Rivera’s departure, who had represented Area 1 on the board since 2010. Area 1 includes Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville and parts of Oakland.
She talked about the importance of maintaining Latine representation as one of the biggest factors behind her choice to succeed Rivera in representing Area 1. She cites Alameda County’s large Latine and Hispanic population, which the U.S. Census Bureau estimated to be at more than 23% in 2025.
Vasudeo ran unopposed for the Area 1 seat in March.
“I understand the public education system,” Vasudeo said. “I think I have a lot of proven experience already with six years of service, of doing good work, and I want to do that for even more students.”
Vasudeo is now one of seven Alameda County Board of Education trustees serving 211,000 students and 12,000 teachers in 18 public school districts. They also oversee district budgets and policies, alternative schools, and court schools at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center.
The Berkeley school board is looking for a new member to replace Vasudeo’s now-vacant seat, which is up for reelection in November 2028. Members of the public are invited to apply in the interim via the BUSD website before July 29 at 4 p.m.
Vasudeo hopes her successor brings a strong fiscal lens to protect programs like the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program, a real estate tax that funds about 20% of BUSD’s budget. Of her six years on the board, she says the last budget cycle was most challenging.
“I don’t know who’s going to be in that role, but I would hope it’s someone who cares as much as I do about making sure that equity is at the forefront of what we’re doing in Berkeley,” Vasudeo said. “We have people who are in our city who can do this work, and I hope they’re raising their hands and applying for this appointment.”