Ingrid Gunnell was born and raised in Glendale. A graduate of Keppel, Toll, and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, she returned to Glendale after college to begin a career in LAUSD as an elementary school teacher. She now works as a teacher advisor within LAUSD.

She is a parent to two sons currently in high school in GUSD. She has seen the amazing work GUSD educators and administrators do each day and regularly attends board meetings to advocate for public education and public educators.

Ingrid is long-time advocate for inclusive teaching practices and greater representation of historically under-represented communities. As part of the coalition of Black in Glendale, she helped GUSD unanimously pass a resolution supporting the Black Lives Matter in Schools curriculum in 2020, as well as the Safe Zone Resolution in 2017 to ensure our immigrant families and students remained safe on campus. For much of the past decade, she has advocated at the local, state, and national levels for Armenian Genocide Education to be taught in public schools.

As an educator herself, Ingrid understands firsthand the importance of working in good faith with organized labor in public school districts. Our Glendale Unified community is only as strong as our relationship with our teachers, principals, nurses, librarians, custodians, assistants, aides, and other staff who work in our schools each and every day.

Lerna is a mother, advocate, and community leader who is running to ensure the Glendale School board is focused on prioritizing student achievement, tackling mental health, engaging parents and families and keeping our schools safe. For over a decade, she has had the privilege of serving the GUSD school community in different capacities. Currently, she is the Executive Vice President of Family Engagement for the Glendale PTA and has served on the School Attendance Review Board, Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee, Culturally Relevant and Responsive Education Group, and Child and Family Services Committee. She will make sure Glendale Unified works with and for everyone.

In 1986, her family immigrated to Glendale where she attended Mark Keppel Elementary School, Toll Middle School and Hoover High School. As a proud graduate of Glendale public schools, she went on to receive her undergraduate degree in sociology and is now pursuing her Masters in Educational Counseling at the University of La Verne. Lerna lives with her husband and two daughters who also attend GUSD schools. With considerable public service experience coupled with her diverse background, Lerna is the best candidate for this position and humbly asks for your vote.