Michelle de Werd

Michelle de Werd was elected to the board in November 2020 to represent Trustee Area 4, encompassing Vandenberg Village, Los Alamos, Cuyama, Guadalupe, Casmalia, and parts of the Santa Ynez Valley. Educated in public schools, Mrs. de Werd passionately supports quality public education, student engagement, and learning opportunities for all. She focuses on fiscal accountability, college readiness, and hands-on learning experiences to develop valuable skills relevant in today’s economy. In addition, she believes educational spending should be put towards investing in our youth to help develop creative and intelligent thinkers, responsible citizens, and future leaders.

Mrs. de Werd is Treasurer for the California Counties Board of Education, a statewide organization representing and serving the unique needs of California’s 58 county offices of education. She also serves on the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Measure K2016 Citizens Oversight Committee as a designated member of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association and was chair of the committee from 2018 to 2022. Mrs. de Werd co-founded and served as president of the non-profit Santa Ynez Valley Academic Booster Club, providing financial assistance to enhance academic achievement and fund music, vocational and academic scholarships for graduating high school seniors.

Mrs. de Werd holds a B.A. Degree in Economics from UCLA. She also was a Division 2 NCAA All-American swimmer at California State University Northridge, where she studied Spanish for her major. After college, she worked in investment management specializing in municipal bond finance and asset management at Sutro & Co. and Shearson Lehman Brothers in Los Angeles, Lehman Brothers in New York, and Provident Investment Counsel in Pasadena.

Mrs. de Werd has lived in Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley for 22 years and is the owner/operator of an agriculture business that grows wine grapes. She has been married for more than 30 years, is the mother of two children, and most recently became a grandmother.

She encourages you to contact her by email to share your thoughts and ideas.