BCSD

Lillian Tafoya

Lillian Tafoya, was elected to the Bakersfield City School District Board of Education in November 1996.

Mrs. Tafoya served as a school administrator for the Bakersfield City School District from 1976 to 1996. In 1993, she received the Association of California School Administrators Principal of the Year Award, and in 1995 her school was recognized as a California Distinguished School. She also received the National Distinguished Principal Award in 1995 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from New Mexico Highlands University in 2004.

Her community involvement is extensive and includes service on numerous boards including the Kern County Network for Children, the California State University Hispanic Excellence Scholarship Foundation and the Board of Governors for the Good Samaritan Hospital. She is former secretary of the Betty Ong Foundation, 9/11 American Hero.

Mrs. Tafoya also served as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Department of CSUB, as well as La Verne University from 1990 to 1998. She has been active in the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and served on the Chamber’s Beautiful Bakersfield Awards Committee/Youth Category. She was also the recipient of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber Beautiful Bakersfield Education Award in 1995 and the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 1996 Educator of the Year Award.

Her service with the Association of California School Administrators includes West Kern Charter President, Region 11 President, State Board of Directors, State Task Force/ Transformational Leadership, State Committee Member/Curriculum and Instruction, and State Elementary Administration Committee. She received the ACSA West Kern Charter Leadership Award in 1996.

As a Board member, Mrs. Tafoya has served on a myraid of State committees including the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education K to University, California School Boards Association (CSBA) Legislative Committee, CSBA’s 2001 Annual Conference Committee, CSBA's Coordinated Compliance Committee, State Superintendent's Hispanic Community Advisory and the State Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. She also served Federal Issues Committee, CSBA's Federal Relations Committee, CSBA's Urban Council Committee, CSBA Board of Director's, Hispanic At Large, CLSBA conference chair, secretary and vice president. Presently she is the Immediate Past President of the California Latino School Boards Association. At the 2007 National School Boards Conference she was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Hispanic Caucus..

Mrs. Tafoya is currently employed as an education consultant for International Group, Inc.