Members of the Board of Education

Click on a board member's name to access his/her personal contact form.

[1]

Linda Canlas
[1]Member

Linda Canlas was elected to the Board of Education in 2010. A graduate of Cal State-East Bay, she was a teacher for 19 years. A vice principal and a principal for the past 10 years, she currently serves as principal of Faith Ringgold School in the Hayward Unified School District.

Ms. Canlas and her husband, Dennis LaFlam, have been Union City residents since 1983 and are the parents of two daughters who attended New Haven schools. She served on New Haven’s Strategic Plan* [1]ning Team and co-chaired school site councils at Cabello and Eastin elementary schools and Alvarado Middle School.

Sarabjit Cheema
[1]Member

Sarabjit Cheema was elected to the Board of Education in 2010. Born in Punjab, India, she taught math and science in her native country before moving in 1991 to the United States, where she has worked as both a part-time and substitute teacher and as a transportation engineer.

Ms. Cheema and her husband are the parents of three sons who attended New Haven schools, the youngest of whom is a senior at James Logan High. Long active on school site councils and parent-teacher associations, she participated in New Haven’s Strategic Planning process and is member of the District’s Equity Task Force. She also is a member of Union City's Human Relations Commission.

Jonas Dino

Jonas Dino
[1]Clerk

Jonas Dino was elected to the Board of Education in 2002 and won re-election in 2004 and 2008. A graduate of James Logan High School, where he later taught, he is a public affairs specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

A former Marine Corps sergeant, Mr. Dino earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in instructional technology and a teaching credential in life science, all at San Jose State University. He and his wife are the parents of a son who attends Eastin Elementary and a daughter who is a pre-schooler.

Michael Ritchie
[1]Member

Michael Ritchie, who has served on site councils at two schools and is one of the founding members of the New Haven Boosters Association, was appointed in November 2011 to fill a Board vacancy created when Kevin Harper resigned because he was moving out of the District. He will serve through the November 2012 election, when the seat will be one of three on the ballot.

A marketing consultant and the father of two sons who attend James Logan High School, Mr. Ritchie served as School Site Council chair at Cesar Chavez Middle School and is a member of the SSC at Logan. He also helped found the Boosters Association, which raises funds for extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, and is a member of the New Haven Schools Foundation.

Michelle Matthews [1]
President

Michelle Matthews was elected to the Board of Education in 2008. A lifelong resident of the Decoto area and a product of New Haven schools, she earned a bachelor’s degree in human development at California State University, East Bay, and works in social service.

A member of the School Site Councils at Emanuele Elementary, Barnard-White Middle and Conley-Caraballo High, Ms. Matthews also is very active in Little League. She and her husband, Will Matthews Jr., are the parents of three sons: Will III, a student at James Logan High School; Lorenzo, a student at Cesar Chavez Middle School: and godson Marcus, who attends New Haven Adult School.