Meet: Maimona Afzal Berta
Teacher, Leader, Community Advocate, Mother
Teacher
Maimona Afzal Berta began dismantling cycles of inequity while volunteering at the San Jose Public Library, running Homework Club and Reading to Children programs. She was named 2013 Volunteer of the Year and Outstanding Graduating Senior at San Jose State University. Tracking developmental milestones of young children while working as a student teacher at San Jose State University’s Child Development Center taught Maimona the power of early learning. She completed her student teaching hours in kindergarten classrooms within the San Jose Unified School District. Maimona has nearly a decade experience teaching special education in the Alum Rock Union School District, which is the same district where she grew up in East San Jose. She believes in anti-racist, trauma-informed, and individualized instruction that fosters self-advocacy and a love of learning. Maimona envisions education as a tool for self-empowerment where students are active leaders in their communities. In 2017, she was recognized as Teacher of the Year for her efforts and in 2021 she was awarded the prestigious Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship by National Geographics and Lindblad Expeditions.
Leader
Maimona has led workshops for educators and mentored teachers across the Eastside Union High School District, San Jose Unified School District, and Mount Pleasant School District. She is a teacher leader and organizer serving at her local, the Alum Rock Educators Association. Experiencing injustice and xenophobia compelled Maimona to run for a school board vacancy in the Franklin-McKinley School District, where she was unanimously appointed by the Board. Maimona won her election to the Board in 2018 and was uncontested in the 2020 election. She has continued to collaborate at the city, county, and state level to lead on policies from environment advocacy to Ethnic Studies. She is the first Hijabi (headscarf-wearing) Muslim elected official in the State of California. Maimona received Congressional Recognition by Congresswoman Eshoo in 2019 was named a 2021 Woman of Distinction for California’s District 27 by Assemblymember Kalra.
Advocate
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maimona co-founded the Digital Equity Coalition, which successfully advocated Internet connectivity and free devices for 15,000 high-needs families across Santa Clara County. Today, she serves as President of the Coalition that is now focused on organizing for long-term broadband infrastructure development across California. Maimona’s advocacy extends from the classroom to school board as a Governing Board Member of the Franklin-McKinley School District. Being a proud daughter of immigrants and a multilingual speaker, Maimona initiated the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Board committee and oversaw the opening of two dual language immersion programs in both Vietnamese and Spanish. These initiatives created system level change in our schools and community. Her advocacy experience is empowering the next generation of leaders by turning student advocacy into tangible action around policy and district-wide decision making.
Maimona is the only candidate in this race with direct experience teaching students and working with educators across all school districts in Trustee Area 6.
Professional Experience
Governing Board Member, Franklin-McKinley School District
Special Education Teacher, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District
Union Leader & Executive Board Member, Alum Rock Educators Association
New Teacher Mentor & Coach, San Jose Unified, East Side, and Mt. Pleasant
Teacher Assistant, Child Development Center San Jose State University
Board Representative, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging Committee
Board Representative, Special Education District Advisory Committee
Selected Volunteer Work
President and Co-Founder, Digital Equity Coalition
Reading to Children Specialist, San Jose Public Library
Member, South Valley Islamic Community
Speaker/Presenter, Teachers 4 Social Justice
Equity Team, Alum Rock Educators Association
Youth Programs Speaker & Volunteer, Council on American Islamic Relations
Steering Committee Chair, Franklin-McKinley Children’s Initiative