Leadership during COVID-19 requires informed, creative problem-solving.
I joined the Oyster River School Board just in October 2020, filling Kenny Rotner's seat when he passed away. Over the past four months, I have worked tirelessly to develop the systems needed to help us navigate COVID’s uncharted waters. I advocated for:
Hybrid models that allow a choice to return to school, minimize asynchronous time, and serve in-person and remote students equitably
Guidance from health experts and a COVID-19 Dashboard
Family input through a satisfaction survey of their child’s school experiences
I co-chaired the Concurrent Teaching Working Group to learn from other districts’ experiences teaching both in-person and remote students during the same class period, ultimately interviewing 30+ educators in 14 districts across 6 states.
I serve on the Equity and Antiracism Committee, at a time when institutions such as PK-12 education must rethink the stories we do (and don’t) tell to ourselves and our children.
It has been a hard year, but we now have turned a corner with hybrid models for all students and clear health indicators to guide decisions. In the months ahead, I will continue to advocate for hybrid models that serve in-person and remote students equitably.
——
PLEASE VISIT MY FACEBOOK PAGE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY WORK ON THE SCHOOL BOARD THIS YEAR.
READ MY RESPONSE TO GOVERNOR SUNUNU’S FEBRUARY 18 ANNOUNCEMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDER #85, WHICH STIPULATES THAT, BY MARCH 8, ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE OFFER AT LEAST TWO DAYS OF IN-PERSON LEARNING PER WEEK.
“Yusi Turell is quite simply the most talented board member I've ever observed. Most new board members remain relatively quiet at the beginning, learning the ropes about how the board works. Yusi jumped right in like she'd been at that table for years, advocating for and spearheading the expansion of in-person learning in accordance with CDC [risk] mitigation guidelines. Besides talent, Yusi brings her values of respect, inclusion, empathy, communication and critical thinking to the table...” (Read more…)
— Dean Rubine, Lee resident and longtime author of the ORCSD Clean Slate Blog
Vision for a Bright Future
Once beyond COVID, we must prepare thoughtfully for Superintendent Morse’s 2024 retirement and the next era of district leadership. In order to pair our strong fundamentals with innovation and growth, I will prioritize:
Experiential education that develops the “Four Cs” of 21st Century Learning: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity
Focus on antiracism and environmental sustainability
Continued strengths in special education and other support services
Improved communication with families
A responsible budget that maintains our district’s strong reputation and property values
“Yusi balances a 30,000-foot vision with the numerous 30-foot levers necessary to reach that vision. She is equally comfortable speaking up about an urgent moral imperative or buried deep in an Excel spreadsheet, equally facile coaching a 13-year-old keynote speaker or designing a multi-year strategic plan…”
— Lisa Ulrich, Former Chief Learning Officer, Citizen Schools
Rich Experience in Experiential Learning & Changemaking
From 2003-2010, I served as a national program manager for Citizen Schools, a education reform nonprofit headquartered in Boston. Citizen Schools engages volunteer ‘citizen teachers’ to teach hands-on apprenticeships to middle schoolers – building students' critical 21st century skills, reinforcing basic academic skills, and fueling their college and career aspirations.
In my experience, solving our society’s grand challenges — e.g., climate change, access to healthcare and housing, systemic racism — requires an interdisciplinary toolbox and hands-on experience outside of the classroom.
From 2011-2016, I served as founding director of UNH’s Center for Social Innovation and Finance (now the Changemaker Collaborative), engaging students in experiential learning opportunities at organizations focused on People, Planet, and Profit. I also taught courses in “Business, Government, and Society” to UNH seniors and “Social Enterprise” to community development practitioners.
In 2021, I am finishing my Ph.D. dissertation on how social entrepreneurs create systemic change and am working part-time for UNH in solar finance. I recently stepped down as board chair of a national zero-waste nonprofit, after overseeing the founder transition and a successful executive search.
Engaged in Our Community
I served on the Superintendent Screening Committee that recommended Dr. Morse in 2011.
I co-founded the Oyster River Chinese Program in 2013 and am proud to have played a major role in expanding ORCSD’s world language offerings to 6th grade, adding Mandarin, and building momentum towards a K-12 world languages strategy.
On Durham's Economic Development Committee from 2010-2013, I led a team of volunteers to interview approximately half of Durham's 141 business owners. As I noted in our report, “42% of business owners said that they were already Durham residents when they started their business, or had moved to Durham for ‘family first, business second’ (citing strong K-12 schools, natural beauty, history, etc.).” If the district’s reputation suffers, property values decline and fewer entrepreneurs and business leaders choose to locate here. Oyster River education is worth investing in.
“One particular thing that we think makes Yusi such an effective [Board] advisor is that she is a skilled listener and she takes the time to hear and process what others are saying before providing her input. Her advising is not reactive, it is constructive, innovative, and often encourages us to think outside the box or to approach issues from multiple angles.”
— Faye Christoforo, Co-Executive Director & Alex Freid, Founder and Former Co-Executive Director, Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN)
About Me
My husband David and I moved to Durham in 2007 to raise our family. Our children, now 11 and 13, had wonderful experiences in the Preschool Education Program (PEP) and at Moharimet Elementary School. Our 5th grader is learning and happy, thanks to his stellar ORMS teachers. Both David and I are public school graduates and champions, but we transferred our 7th grader to Berwick Academy this year to access in-person instruction. This meant that, on the School Board, I was able to empathize with families whose children were seriously struggling while not being swayed in decision-making by our family’s interests.
I am a proud Chinese-American. My father immigrated from China as a teenager and taught historical Chinese linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley, where I grew up. (Did you know there are more Asian Americans living in Oyster River than the population of Madbury?) I also have deep New Hampshire roots: Family lore says my maternal great-grandfather taught math to more than 10,000 undergraduates at Dartmouth College.
I hold a B.S.E. in civil engineering from Princeton University (highest honors) and an M.Phil. in technology and innovation management from the University of Sussex, UK, as a Marshall Scholar. Earlier in my career, I worked as an engineer on Boston’s ‘Big Dig’ project, then as a senior consultant in Ernst & Young’s Center for Business Innovation researching how businesses can learn from complex adaptive systems, such as schools of fish, flocks of birds, and traffic jams.
Though pre-COVID activity feels long ago, I also hold national championship titles in two sports: collegiate women’s rugby and Ultimate frisbee. David and I hope to get back on Tibbetts Fields with Oyster River Youth Association (ORYA) Ultimate frisbee players this summer!
Get in touch.
Please contact me with any questions or for a yard sign to display.
Email me at yusiwang@gmail.com.
Visit my FACEBOOK PAGE for more information and updates.