April 6 Election Candidate Profiles

Next week’s election includes many city and school races. The following are races of local interest. Here are the races taking place in the City of Willard:
 
Willard Board of Education
 
Name: Stephanie Campbell
Education:
Ph.D in psychology, board certification in applied behavior analysis (BCBA-D)
Occupation:
Psychologist and behavior analyst in private practice
Family: Married to Jason Campbell, retired military service member, son Joseph, 16, son Adam, 11, daughter Marcella, 9, daughter Elsalyn, 6, and son Isaac, 2.
Why should someone vote for you? I can bring multiple perspectives to the school board: I work with children on a day-to-day basis that experience behavioral, emotional, and educational struggles in the home and clinical settings; I once worked full-time in the schools ranging from being employed as a paraprofessional, a school psychologist, a behavior specialist, and finally as an administrator over a program that served students with disabilities with significant emotional, behavioral, and academic needs; I currently consult with multiple area school districts in support of staff, parents, and students; and I am a parent of kids who are involved with a variety of school-based programs and activities (early childhood education, speech-language therapy, gifted and talented, track, basketball, band, dance).

Name: Amanda Dawn Gooch
Education: Masters Degree in Education, Bachelors Degree in Healthcare Administration, Associates Degree in Radiology.
Occupation: Vice President of Operations, Mercy Springfield
Family: Married to my husband of 18 years Chris Gooch. We have freshman twin boys, Hunter and Mason, who have grown up in the district.
Why should someone vote for you? I will work hard to advocate for our students, educators and district. I will bring passion and excitement to the board and strive for improvement where needed and bring new ideas forward. I will bring insight to the board as a parent of students in the district with a focus on success for the future. I will promote a culture of alignment and engagement and will put the needs of the students at the forefront of every decision.

Name: Jennifer Triplett
Education: JD (law degree) from The Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, Washington, D.C. Undergraduate from Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, MD - double major in International Studies, French
Occupation: Attorney, specializing in business, real estate, estate planning and juvenile/family law. Guardian ad litem attorney for Greene County Juvenile Court.
Why should someone vote for you? I have a passion for children. I have served as a basketball coach, a Girl Scout Leader and a crazy soccer mom for many years. I volunteer with the CASA organization working with kids in foster care, as well as Ambassadors for children. Additionally, one of our daughters is at Willard Middle School in the Special Skills Program. Nora is 15-year-old and has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She is non-verbal and in a wheelchair. She is our little guardian angel, but we have a lot of needs day-to-day and with my contacts in and experience working with the special needs community I hope to be able to help continue to enhance and improve our (already awesome) special services. I also represent many children in foster care due to abuse/neglect as a GAL attorney. They have many different family issues... from poverty to mental health to substance abuse issues to teen pregnancy and others. I know the schools have a lot of pressure on them to not only teach, but often to parent these children as well as to deal with mental health issues, physical abuse,
etc., which challenge these children each day beyond the learning environment.

Name: Matthew Young
Education: Willard Graduate in 1997, attended SMS, OTC and WGU
Occupation: Owner and operator of Voiceconnex
Family: Wife Rachel, freshman Elliott, Intermediate South fifth-grader Jerrytt
Why should someone vote for you? I am 42 years old and a Willard graduate. I am a faith driven husband and father of two boys in the Willard School system. Rachel, Elliott, Jerrytt and I have loved calling Willard Schools our school community for almost 15 years now. Rachel is an RN with Cox Health Systems. Elliott is a ninth grader and Jerrytt is a fifth grader at Willard South Intermediate. I spent ten years as a member of the school’s Technology Department, before following my Lord’s calling to step out into small business ownership. During my time as a Willard School’s staff member, I had been involved in many areas of the daily operations of the district. I hope to use my experiences in the following areas to serve all the stakeholders of the district:
- 10 years as the tech support for a majority of open school board meetings;
- Actively involved in many district construction projects;
- Served on several committees (Salary and Benefits, Hiring, Construction);
- Involved in the budgeting process for my department;
- Assisted with the district’s last redistricting process.