Jenny Lam


Jenny Lam is an American politician. She is a commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education and is also Mayor London Breed's Education Advisor. She was appointed to the Board in January 2019 to fill a vacant seat after Matt Haney was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. A special election was held in 2019 for her to finish out the term. She won the election with 73% of the vote and will seek re-election in November 2020 for a four year term.

Early life and career

Lam's parents emigrated to the United States from Hong Kong. She was previously a director of Chinese for Affirmative Action and has also worked at EducationSuperHighway.

Board of Education

Lam is the only Chinese American on the San Francisco Board of Education.

Roles

Lam serves as Chair on the following committees:
In June 2019, school board members Lam and Alison Collins introduced a resolution that would implement an ethnic studies framework across the district in all subject areas and grade levels. The resolution, titled "Equity Studies to Implement Humanizing Learning Experiences for All Students", would have SFUSD center its curriculum around decolonizing pedagogy based on three principles: self love and knowledge, solidarity, and self determination. “It’s time for us to implement ethnic studies districtwide, and address values, cultural competence, and relevance to guide all curricular decisions. What this resolution does is help bring to light for our students the whole notion of invisibility our students of color experience, and the stereotype of the model immigrant,” Lam said.

Resolutions

Our Healing in Our Hands

Co-authored by Commissioners Jenny Lam, Alison M. Collins, and Faauuga Moliga, Resolution #195-14A1 aims to address the rising levels of xenophobic attacks on immigrants which has resulted in decreased feelings of safety, increased stress levels, and increased academic struggles in students of color including low income English Language Learners, African American, Latinx, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim American, and Asian Pacific Islander American students.
The resolution calls for San Francisco Unified School District to develop and implement plans to increase funding to support preventative wellness services for students, to expand on the value of student voice and skills as leaders and decision makers, and to collectivize responsibility for wellness and healing.

2020 Census - SF Counts

Authored by Jenny Lam, Resolution 205-26A3 aims to ensure appropriate federal funding is secured through an accurate count of the Census. This includes partnership from local civic, business, and community leaders to engage and educate the residents in San Francisco.

Federal Stimulus Funding for Schools including the HEROES Act

Authored by Jenny Lam, this resolution calls for United States Congress to approve the HEROES Act which provides funding for the nation's schools, states, cities, and counties during COVID-19.