Patch's LCF Person of the Year: Ellen Multari

Editor's Note: Patch asked. You answered. La Cañada residents nominated five tireless community members to be . Ellen Multari clinched the title (plus a Patch tote bag and the column featured below!) Multari netted 250 votes, or 43 percent of 571 responses. To see how

Last November, when Ellen Shewfelt Multari was sworn in as a new governing board member of the , she remembers taking an official oath of office and listening to the words recited by her friend, then-board president Susan Boyd.

“I do solemnly swear to serve the City of La Cañada, State of California and the United States…. and to protect our shores and all army foreign and domestic...''

Multari thought for one second, “Am I being deployed?”

Multari has never run for a political office before, yet she is a smart and perceptive woman. Raised in a large Catholic family in Hancock Park, Multari graduated from Stanford University with a degree in developmental psychology. In 2007, Multari and her family moved to La Cañada, when her husband, Al, was transferred to Nestle USA, in Glendale.

They enrolled their oldest child into La Salle High School and the younger children attended and . Multari actively involved herself in various PTA positions, site councils and the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation.

“Public Schools bring neighborhoods together. When we were a new family, the schools were an anchor that gave us a great sense of community,” Multari shared with me over lunch at .

“Parents who help in the classroom learn about the teacher’s expectations in the class,” Multari added. “You become aware of what your child’s day is like academically and socially.”

When I asked her what inspired her to run for our local school board, she said, “Since I have a history of volunteer service in our public schools, I wanted to go from micro to macro.” She felt a call to service and had the skills and knowledge to provide additional value to the city by being on the school board.

I next asked her who was helpful in her successful campaign.

”Brad Schwartz, a LCF resident and LCUSD parent, was a key advisor to my campaign,” announced Multari. “My friends Craig Mazin and Joe Doherty were instrumental in advising me throughout the campaign.” Her longtime friend, Joe Doherty, is a professor at UCLA Law School. He would give her a “Daily Poke” email to help her define a time and action calendar.

Multari's Commmittment [sic]

When I asked her to share a funny or poignant moment during her campaign, she looked at me with smiling eyes.

“The three m's,” she said without hesitation.

The Thursday before the election, Multari received a phone call from a woman who informed Multari that her son discovered an extra "m'' in the word "committment'' on Multari’s school board signs. No one had noticed this from the beginning of her campaign, to when the signs were approved, to when 300 signs were placed all throughout the community.

“I’ve learned so much in the last couple of months,” revealed Multari, noting school board member Boyd has been very supportive to her. Both women have sons who are seniors at LCHS.

“I look to Susan Boyd for guidance. She has truly been dedicated to our local schools,” said Multari.

Two Months into her Term

Since winning a seat on the board, Multari helped put the board agendas on all PTA constant contact emails. She believes it is important to keep everyone in our community informed.

The school board is constantly monitoring the state budget. While writing the budget, Multari said “We never know if the sky is falling or if it’s just raining in regards to the money the state will give to our schools.” Governor Jerry Brown recently stated there needs to be “significant changes in the state’s education system” during his State of the State speech.

“Residents want to keep the 20 to 1 in the K to 3 classrooms,” Multari said.

Last year the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation asked families for a $2500 donation. Some families enthusiastically donated the requested amount, while others were resistant.

“Thanks to the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation’s infusion of $2 million last year, we were able to hire 30 new teachers for this school year. It kept our classes under 20 students in all K through 3 and in the 9th grade Math and English classes. We are one of the few public high schools that still have a full-time college counselor,” added Multari.

Multari said she and the school board are committed to finding ways to keep our schools integrity, maintain smaller class sizes, continue to offer AP classes in high school and special programs for our children.

A wise person once said to Multari “Throwing money at a problem doesn’t fix them, but taking money away often creates them.” She believes we can face the future of our school budget, if we unite together as a community.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named LCHS as the school where Multari's eldest enrolled. Her child enrolled at La Salle High School.