Today's Featured Biography

 
Shelly Summers James

It’s been a wonderful ride so far and I’m very fortunate to be a mom, a wife, a grandmother, and an educator.

I loved high school and college. One of my favorite high school memories was watching Miss Parrish look all over the parking lot for her Volkswagen bug, only to find it down on the football field. I don’t remember who helped me move it there but thanks!
I graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Physical Education and Theatre Arts. My fondest memories include playing on the university’s volleyball, basketball and softball teams. We competed throughout the west and I took my first plane ride to compete in the national college basketball tournament in Illinois. The friendships forged during these years continue today.
I met my husband while working in Food Services at USU. We had two sons, Josh and Jason. After eight years of marriage we divorced and I moved to Southern California to begin my career in education. Not finding a job in either of my majors, I returned to school and received my credentials in Special Education. My first position was with LA Unified at their Special Education Center in East LA. That was a real eye opener and a lesson in gratitude and compassion. My first teaching assignment consisted of 12 students ages 10-12 and only two who could speak. It was very challenging and called on a great deal of creativity. I was then hired as a Resource Specialist in Buena Park, team taught Language Arts for a few years and was honored as Teacher of the Year. I was then promoted to an Assistant Principal position at a large elementary school.

I met the love of my life while working as the director of a night time English as a Second Language program. Cindy and I have been together for 30 years. She has two children, Melina and Anthony. So together we have four children and 13 grandchildren. We moved from southern California to the Santa Cruz area in 1997 when Cindy accepted the position of Superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District. I was very fortunate to secure an elementary principalship in the Sunnyvale School District. What a great job that was. One student pegged me perfectly when she said, “Mrs. James, you are like a large 12 year old.” I served in that capacity for three years and was then promoted to Director of Human Resources in Sunnyvale. That was good work as well. I loved competing against other districts to hire the very best staff for our students. In 2005 our lives took a dramatic detour. After returning home from daughter Melina’s wedding in Scotland, Cindy contracted Transverse Myelitis and is paralyzed from T3 (chest level) down. Now, after 14 years and several home renovations, we have a good routine going, keeping her healthy and safe.

I continued to work in Sunnyvale and in 2007 was awarded Human Resources Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators. In 2008, I was recruited to serve as Chief of Human Resources for the Pasadena Unified School District. We packed up, rented our beautiful home in Santa Cruz and headed down south. It was a very rich and memorable experience. We returned home to Santa Cruz in 2012. Cindy began working hard on her table tennis and I returned to golf.

Currently, we enjoy and are very proud of our children and grandchildren. They continue to amaze us with their accomplishments. We have traveled extensively, including three trips to Africa, my favorite place. Cindy is on the USA Para-Pan Am team heading to Lima, Peru this summer to compete in wheelchair table tennis. I’m working on my 5th women’s club championship in a row at our local golf course. I’ve also returned to my passion for art. We have a very large fenced-in yard and my goal is to paint a mural on each and every panel. Thank you, Mr. Hancock. I love to cook, especially middle eastern cuisine and I never miss a Chopped, Chef’s Table or Beat Bobby Flay episode on TV. Thank you grandma, mom and Mrs. Udy. We have been so blessed to have a wonderful and supportive network of family and friends.

Our new big love is Cindy’s service dog, Hollis. What a sweetheart she is and so very smart. Life is good here in Santa Cruz and we would love to host anyone who might find their way here. Your ocean view room awaits.

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