During her second year of teaching, she was elected to the CTA State Council as the At-Large Member, representing the Santa Clara County Service Center, and served as the Chair of the Equity Team. In addition, Dr. Jaco worked at the local level, serving as the Minority Affairs Director for the San Jose Teachers Association Executive Board.

Dr. Jaco has also had the privilege to serve at the state and national level as Chair of the Civil Rights in Education Committee for the CTA State Council, member of the Racial Equity Affairs Committee for CTA, and as a member of the NEA Board of Directors.

Dr. Jaco formally began her teaching career as a 6th grade English Language Arts & Social Studies teacher at Hoover Middle School in the San Jose Unified School District in 2015, where she realized her lifelong passion for justice correlated with the inequities in the educational system.

While using Critical Race Theory as the basis to complete her doctoral degree in Education Leadership at San Jose State University, Dr. Jaco filmed a documentary entitled Fidelity At The Forefront: The Fight For Ethnic Studies, illuminating the plight of Ethnic Studies practitioners and scholars. Dr. Jaco earned a Masters of Arts in Journalism from Regent University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego State University.

As a diehard fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, if she is not waving her “Terrible Towel”, she is more than likely enjoying a day at the beach with her dogs.

Dr. Taunya Jaco is serving her first three-year term on the Board, which expires on June 25, 2024.

Contacting Taunya Jaco