Governing Board

David Bowen

President

Term Expires 2024

DJ Bowen III has taught mathematics in public schools since being hired on an internship credential in 2011. He has coached basketball and football, while serving his union as a site representative and on the contract negotiations team.

Bowen grew up in Vacaville and was inspired to enter the realm of service through the actions of his late mother, Bobbi. She helped to create a soup kitchen in 2000 through Epiphany Episcopal Church that still serves more than 200 hot meals on Friday nights; she also served as PTA president for the local elementary school, among many other projects.

Bowen used this as inspiration to serve as a full-time AmeriCorps volunteer while attending Saint Mary’s College, working at St. Vincent de Paul in East Oakland, Civicorps Schools in West Oakland, and designing engaging volunteer events on campus. Bowen found the most rewarding service to be assisting students in the classroom, and upon completion of his Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics, immediately enrolled in a credential and Master’s program at Saint Mary’s in order to fulfill that dream.

Bowen would like to use his status as a classroom teacher to bring the concerns of parents, students, teachers, and staff to discussions and best serve these groups at Board level. Bowen lives in Dixon with his wife Heather, who is also a teacher, and children, Avery and Taylor.

david.bowen@dixonusd.org

Melissa Maseda

Vice-President

Term Expires 2024

Melissa Maseda has lived in Dixon for 22 Years where she has raised her four children. She has a love for early childhood education and she taught Preschool for 15 years. She has always been heavily involved in her children’s school and has served in many capacities in the community. She was appointed to the Board in 2016. She has been successfully re-elected and is serving her second full term.

During her tenure on the Dixon Unified School Board, she has served on many committees and capacities. She has taken a special focus on ensuring that the Special Education Department is meeting the needs of the students it serves. There have been many improvements under her leadership. She has been a trusted official for parent and staff voices to be heard.

She has spent much of her time focused on the budget of the district to ensure financial responsibility and to secure success of programs to help students and staff be successful. She has served on the Budget Committee for several years where she takes a deep dive into the budget as well as attending many state budget meetings to help build a better budget and have more accountability to taxpayers.

While on the Board, she has overseen the modernization of John Knight Middle School. She served on the Facilities Committee during this time. She has ensured that tax dollars have been accounted for and spent properly. She has worked hard to make certain that the students of Dixon have an amazing middle school to attend that they can take pride in. She will continue to over see the modernization of Anderson Elementary School as well as other improvements for the District.

Maseda continues to work hard to secure the success of every student in Dixon Unified. She continues to be a voice for students who may not have support in their home life that they so need. She has pushed for the District to provide a rigorous education for all students of Dixon which will help to make all students college or career ready. She has been a part of the District Wide AVID Initiative that has helped students with the tools needed for their success in their future. She is proud to be a part of the success of Dixon students with the highest A-G completion rate in the county.

melissa.maseda@dixonusd.org

Jewel Fink

Clerk

Term Expires 2026

Jewel Fink received a Bachelor’s Degree and General Secondary Teaching Credential from the University of California Berkeley and a Master’s Degree and Administrative Services Credential from Mills College in Oakland, CA. She has two adult sons who are business owners in Dixon; five adult grandchildren who live and work locally; and two great granddaughters who attend Dixon schools.

Fink was elected to the Governing Board of the Dixon Unified School District in November 2018. Her focus throughout her long career in education has always been: “Students First”. Fink worked for the Vallejo City Unified School District as a middle and high school teacher; a teacher/counselor in an alternative ed setting; and a district administrator. In addition, she was the Director of Community Service and Education for a community-based organization. These experiences convinced her that when all children have access to a high quality standards-aligned, rigorous curriculum and supportive programming, all children benefit and are more likely to reach their full potential.

In addition, another of Fink’s priorities is community involvement. She belongs to a variety of service clubs and organizations including the district’s LCAP Committee; Dixon Soroptimist International, Dixon Chamber of Commerce and the Dixon Historical Society & Museum. As the current President of the Dixon Women’s Improvement Club, she is working with representatives from the school district, the library, churches, non-profits, service clubs, and youth and family-serving organizations to create an all-inclusive Community Resource Guide which will be distributed to every household in Dixon to aid in identifying the many quality and diverse resources that our community has to offer.

Fink also believes that one of her roles as a board member is to work collaboratively with other board members to engage and involve the entire Dixon community in the district’s efforts to create a culture of inclusion. She believes that it is everyone’s job, not just school district personnel, to support young people. They are our future.

jewel.fink@dixonusd.org

Julian Cuevas

Member

Term Expires 2026

julian.cuevas@dixonusd.org

John Gabby

Member

Term Expires 2026

john.gabby@dixonusd.org