Valarie Bachelor

Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor is a proud product of public education, from elementary school through George Mason University in Virginia, where she earned a degree in Political Science. As a longtime organizer, she brings more than two decades of experience advocating for working people, low income families, students, and immigrant communities.
Director Bachelor immigrated to the United States from Bolivia and attended Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools. Her experience as an immigrant and public school student shaped her belief that public institutions must be places where every person has the opportunity to thrive.

Before joining the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education, Director Bachelor built a career in labor organizing working for SEIU International and the California Federation of Teachers. She worked alongside educators, healthcare workers, child care providers and other working people to fight for dignified jobs, strong public services, and economic justice.

Currently she is the Director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Oakland, where she organized with low income communities of color around some of Oakland's most pressing issues, including affordable housing, immigrant rights, and corporate accountability. That work strengthened her commitment to building power with working people and holding powerful institutions and corporations accountable to the communities they impact.

As an OUSD Board Director, Director Bachelor brings that same organizing approach to public education: listen to the community, identify the root causes of problems, build coalitions, and fight for solutions that improve students' lives. She is a strong advocate for fully funded public schools, high-quality early childhood education and TK, safe and welcoming school facilities, support for educators and school staff, and policies that ensure every Oakland student has access to a high-quality education.

As a queer immigrant and a product of public schools, Director Bachelor understands personally what it means to have institutions that recognize your dignity, protect your rights, and invest in your future. She believes Oakland's public schools should be places where every student, regardless of race, immigration status, gender identity, family income, disability, or zip code, feels safe, valued, and able to succeed.

Her leadership is grounded in a simple principle: when working people organize, we can win the things our communities need.