2020 Candidates

Christina Diaz-Torres

As a teacher, an education policy professional and an active member of the community, I have shown that I can not only advocate for our students, but also deliver results.
As a Board Member, I will focus on three things:

• First, I will ensure we have transformative educators with the support, resources and skills they need to serve every student.
• Secondly, we must improve how we share data with the public so that all  can see who our systems impact, and how we improve instruction for all.
• Finally, I will bring an equity lens to budget and construction, particularly as the district evolves to welcome and effectively serve our growing community.

I have over 10 years of education experience where I initially started working in a Title 1, high poverty school.  I saw first hand the impact that the weight of an entire system has on students in the margins of our educational system.  After teaching in the classroom, I moved on to more fully understand how policy is formed and created at the federal level where (in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's Office) I specifically worked on the 'Every Student Shall Succeed' Act, college and career readiness, and overall workforce development.  Presently, I sit on 3 important county commissions where I review both the county and school budgets.  Professionally, I spend my days supporting education organizations and system leaders through strategic consulting where I help them create policies that benefit students of color and students from low income communities.

Steven Krieger

Steven Krieger has been an Arlington resident for over 10 years and is the father of a 3^rd grade student and 3 year old. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Michigan and law degree from UCLA. Throughout his career, Steven has been a problem solver.  He opened his own litigation firm, Steven Krieger Law, PLLC, to provide high-quality legal counsel to people who could not afford market rate attorneys.  A few years later, to make a larger impact, he founded Access to Justice Lawyer Referral Service, a non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping middle class people find affordable legal representation by matching attorneys willing to accept clients at a reduced rate and sliding scale based on the client’s income. Steven is also a Guardian ad litem for children, which is a court-appointed lawyer for children involved in the court system. Steven is running for School Board because he believes that our school system could benefit from his problem solving approach: Practical Solutions. Honest Answers. For Everyone.  Steven is a social justice advocate and father of two school-aged children who has been directly impacted by the decisions of APS, which were not informed by data or the community. Steven is looking forward to meeting you, learning about your community (what you’re most proud of and what challenges you’re facing), and earning your support and vote because you believe in his ability to work with you in collaboration with APS to solve problems and replicate our successes for years to come.

Symone Walker

I grew up in Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. at 16 to attend college. I started at NOVA in 1987 and graduated with my BA in Psychology from GMU in 1991. I graduated from American University law school with my JD in 1998 and from GWU law school with my LL.M. in Litigation and Dispute Resolution in 2001. I was a career federal attorney for 20 years, litigating and advising management on many issues ranging from counterintelligence to personnel law.

I have served on PTAs at Ashlawn, Drew and Gunston, and on the Arlington Montessori Action Committee, successfully advocating for Montessori to get its own school. I have volunteered with Street Law, Inc., teaching constitutional law at Wakefield, with the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project as a moot court judge, and with the Alfred Street Baptist Church HBCU Festival coordinating college interviews.  I currently serve on the Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee, the Superintendent’s Committee for Equity and Excellence and as founding Co-chair of the Arlington NAACP Education Committee.  I also serve on the Destination 2027 Implementation Task Force for health equity in Arlington.  I’m a member of several parent advocacy organizations including Black Parents of Arlington, Arlington Special Education PTA, Arlington Mental Health and Disability Alliance, NoVA chapter of Children and Adults with ADHD, Decoding Dyslexia Virginia, and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. Presently, I’m currently leading an effort with Del. Patrick Hope on literacy legislation for a Rapid Automatized Naming screener and evidence-based instruction for K-3.