Governing Board

Julian Cuevas

President

Term Expires 2026

Julian is the son of Mexican immigrants. His parents immigrated to the United States in the late 60s/early 70s. After working in the fields, these high school sweethearts later devoted their careers to public service and moved to Dixon in 1978. For 30 years, his mother worked for Dixon Unified School District (DUSD) and retired as a Teacher’s Associate III (paraprofessional); dedicating her career to helping students and families – particularly those in the migrant and special education programs. Julian’s father, a Veteran of the U.S. Army, joined the Dixon Police Department and rounded his 37 years of service as a Lieutenant of the Solano County Sheriff’s Office – and later as a Criminal Investigator for the District Attorney’s Office of Solano County. As a result, Julian and his 3 siblings have called Dixon home and attended DUSD schools. Julian and his wife, Jessica, a Speech Language Pathologist, live in Dixon and have 3 children, Mateo, Sofia, and Camila.

Julian is an executive level government, nonprofit, and community relations professional with experience in federal, state and local government advocacy. In 2013, he joined the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley as the Education Programs Manager, and later the Director of Education Programs, where his work primarily focused on developing and implementing equitable education interventions, including family engagement, in partnership with local school districts. In 2015, his work was recognized by The White House for the development of the Latinos In Technology Initiative; a multi-million dollar effort designed to help students get to and through college, and address the lack of diversity within the hi-tech industry.

In 2017, Julian was appointed as the Legislative Policy Representative at the California Department of Education by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this role, his policy portfolio included early childhood education, curriculum, and state standards. He was later appointed to Director of Government Affairs in 2019 where he oversaw the legislative and budget priorities impacting California’s 6.2 million students and 300,000 teachers. In late 2020, Julian joined the Inland Empire Community Foundation as the Director of Policy & Governmental Affairs where he lead the development and implementation of strategically lifting community voices around regional policy and budget priorities, particularly around education equity. In 2021, his work was recognized by the California State Legislature for the establishment of the region’s first Policy & Engagement Office; a centralized base anchored within the nonprofit community that builds policy and advocacy capacity by bridging relationships and priorities between community and government. He now sits as the Director of California Strategy at PolicyLink where he is leading statewide efforts to advance racial equity through inclusive governance in areas that include economic equity, infrastructure, housing, climate resilience, and civic engagement.

Julian was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Dixon Unified School District in 2022. He also sits as the President for the Dixon Library and was elected to the Solano County Democratic Central Committee. He received his bachelors degree from the University of California San Diego in Political Science/American Politics and his masters degree from American University in Public Administration and Policy.

julian.cuevas@dixonusd.org

Regina Espinoza

Vice President

Term Expires 2028

regina.espinoza@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

John Gabby

Member

Term Expires 2026

john.gabby@dixonusd.org

Robert Sanchez

Member

Term Expires 2028

robert.sanchez@dixonusd.org