Click for Google map for directions to 11645 Ridge RoadGrass Valley, CA 95945
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Click to call 530.273.3351
Board Members
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Trustee Areas
AREAS REPRESENTED BY BOARD MEMBERS
If you wish to view the Trustee areas please link below to go to the County of Nevada GIS department where you can view a map of the Trustee areas.
http://gis.nevcounty.net/MyNeighborhood/
At the top of the page, click on “map overlays” and choose Nevada Joint Union High School District.
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Trustee Area 1
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Olivia PritchettClerk of the Boardemail: opritchett@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: November 2026 |
Trustee Pritchett was elected in 2022.
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Trustee Area 2
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Wendy WilloughbyVice Presidentemail: wwilloughby@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: December 2024 |
Wendy, a 4th generation Nevada County resident, was delighted to return to her home town in 2005 to raise her family near dear relatives and friends. She is currently the Managing Director at the Center for Nonprofit Leadership. For the past 14 years Wendy has had the pleasure and honor to learn from some of the most dedicated and passionate leaders in Nevada County’s nonprofit sector and beyond. She balances that position with her work for our Nevada County Fair as their Community Outreach Coordinator, managing several key areas of the annual Fair’s activities.
Prior to CNL and the Fair, Wendy served as the Development and Education Director at the Foothill Theatre Company in Nevada City. She holds a BA in Theatre and Dance from UC Irvine. After earning her degree, she spent 10 years in the television industry, as both an Executive Assistant and Affiliate Relations & Promotions Manager.
She has been dedicated to the support of her children’s educational entities and served as the Fundraising Chair of Tall Pines Nursery School for 4 years and then continued on the board of the Grass Valley Charter School Foundation, eventually serving as their Board President for 8 years. In addition to her efforts on behalf of the board, she is very proud to have been the creator and co-producer of the GVCS festival, the Blue Marble Jubilee.
She lives with her husband, Matthew, daughters, Olivia and Simone, their 2 fluffy black cats and 2 of the sweetest black Labs in the world, Wheeler and Raina. She spends her free time attending NU High School Girls tennis matches and soccer games.
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Trustee Area 3
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Geoffrey NelsonTrusteeemail: gnelson@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: December 2024 |
Geoffrey Nelson is a real estate, land use planning and construction professional with a focus on building and steering teams through complex construction projects in California. At different times in his career he has worn the hats of city planner, contractor, planning commissioner, architect, and large project owner. Prior to his current role (at The Boldt Company), he spent 20 years in the community development, construction, regulatory, and healthcare sectors where he served in various management and leadership roles in both the public and private sector.
He stays active volunteering his time, starting with his assignment in the Peace Corps (Cote d’Ivoire 1993-1995) and including positions on local commissions and community & economic development organizations in the San Francisco Bay, Greater Sacramento, and Nevada County areas. At different times he has also been a T-Ball, Little League and Mountain Bike coach, mostly to hang out with his kids more!
His wife Allison is the founder and Director of Gold Country Avian Studies, a nonprofit committed to improving the understanding of bird populations in the Sierra Nevada foothills through avian research and education. They have two children, age 19 and 16. Their oldest graduated from Ghidotti in 2021 and their youngest is at Nevada Union High School. They moved to Nevada City in 2014 to be closer to the mountains and the Yuba River - where they have been coming to play for over 20 years. He is deeply committed to the youth of Nevada County and is looking forward to supporting the students, educators and administrators of NHUSD in any way he can.
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Trustee Area 4
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DuWaine GanskieBoard Presidentemail: dganskie@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: November 2024 |
DuWaine Ganskie retired from the Nevada Joint Union High School District in 2018, after thirty years of service as a Teacher, Coach, and Athletic Director. He has a degree in Social Sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from the United States Sports Academy. In addition to DuWaine’s duties on the NJUHSD School Board, he serves on the board of directors for the District’s Scholarship Foundation.
DuWaine worked at both Nevada Union and Bear River HIgh Schools, teaching Economics, Government, and Math. He coached varsity basketball at both schools, and was selected as California’s Coach of the Year in 2004. He was also elected to the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2018. DuWaine served as Athletic Director at Bear River High School, and was President of the District’s Teacher Association from 2016 to 2018.
DuWaine has been married to Linda Ganskie for 43 years and they have three children together, all graduates of Bear River High School. When not spending time with his eight grandchildren, DuWaine loves to travel, fish, bike, and work with wood.
DuWaine worked at both Nevada Union and Bear River HIgh Schools, teaching Economics, Government, and Math. He coached varsity basketball at both schools, and was selected as California’s Coach of the Year in 2004. He was also elected to the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2018. DuWaine served as Athletic Director at Bear River High School, and was President of the District’s Teacher Association from 2016 to 2018.
DuWaine has been married to Linda Ganskie for 43 years and they have three children together, all graduates of Bear River High School. When not spending time with his eight grandchildren, DuWaine loves to travel, fish, bike, and work with wood.
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Trustee Area 5
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Ken JohnsonBoard Trusteeemail: kjohnson@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: November 2026 |
Ken Johnson and his wife Carolyn are both retired public school classroom teachers. Ken taught history to junior high and high school students for 38 years. Carolyn taught elementary school for 31 years. They have six children together and three grandchildren. They enjoy traveling, hiking, playing golf, bocce, and pickleball.
Currently, Ken also serves on the Board of Directors for California’s Valued Trust which provides health care to over half of California’s classroom teachers and their families.
Ken served six years on the State SARB. SARB is the Student Attendance and Review Board. SARB makes recommendations to the legislature to improve student attendance and discipline for all of California’s students. As the only classroom teacher on State SARB, Ken represented all of California’s 325,000 classroom teachers.
Ken believes public schools should support several paths for student success after graduation including vocational education as well as college readiness. He is a big proponent of CTE(Career and Technical Education) because we all have different talents and types of intelligence.
Ken believes sorting through differences of opinion is always difficult, but we have a responsibility to the students we serve to do what needs to be done to provide them with a quality public school education.
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Student Representative
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Shaun ChiltonStudent Trusteeemail: schilton@njuhsd.comTerm Ends: June 30, 2024 |
Trustee Chilton was elected for a second term to the Board for the term ending June 30, 2025. A message from Shaun: "Albert Einstein once said, "The only source of knowledge is experience." Serving as the Student Trustee this past year has shown me that his statement is completely true. Elected to serve my Junior year as the Student Trustee, I wasn't sure what my year of service would look like. However, through trial and error, I found effective ways to meet students where they were and bring their voices to the table, especially during discussions of students' wellbeing. Too often, as a student, I've felt like our stories were being told by adults with little to no knowledge of what actually goes on in our world...I know that the over 2,400 students in our district need a strong representative who will voice their needs as best as possible."