Christopher Drouin
I became involved in the Jewish community through my wife who is an active, observant member of the Jewish community. Ever since we moved to Sacramento in 1989, we have been involved in Jewish activities and observance at home, at our congregation and in the community. We have raised our son to be knowledgeable and active in his own Judaism. Professionally, I worked for over forty years in public and private education for children with disabilities and their families. Most recently, I retired after 30 years working for the California Department of Education as a trainer, group facilitator, author, program developer, state data manager, and program administrator. My last position was as the Director of the Special Education Division, the second largest division in the department. I have experience working across government agencies and in the legislature on behalf of the department. As a part of my work, I helped to establish a statewide system of family support agencies (Family Empowerment Centers) mostly staffed with volunteer parents. And I oversaw the transition of mental health services for children with disabilities from County Mental Health Agencies to local public school districts. I have worked extensively building coalitions across state and local agencies to expand and improve services to children and their families in health, mental health, education and social services. Over a period of years, I have been involved in the Jewish community as a parent at the Shalom School, as a member of Congregation Beth Shalom and as a volunteer supporting community and congregational activities. I think my first contacts with the Federation came with fund raising and as a donor to the annual campaign. I have participated in Federation-sponsored community events. Over time I came to know Federation staff and board members. Later I became more active in a volunteer capacity, delivering Kosher Food, working on the Jewish Film Festival and special tasks requested by Federation staff and board members. Most recently, I have been participating on the Advisory Committee of the Schwab Rosenhouse Memorial Scholarship Foundation. I have a number of work skills that may be useful to the work of the Federation – from addressing and stuffing envelopes to organizing and analyzing data. I have some experience with writing proposals and with public speaking. Lastly, I think I bring a perspective that will encourage involvement and support for mixed families.