Trustee Mary Hiền Pollett has served on the Evergreen School Board since 2022, embodying compassionate leadership with a balanced and comprehensive perspective, ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff. With a career spanning over two decades in education, encompassing roles as a teacher, administrator, and school board member, she brings a wealth of experience and distinctive qualities that define her as an exemplary leader.

Ms. Pollett is widely recognized for her outstanding contributions as an educator, having garnered accolades as an award-winning teacher and principal. Her dedication to teaching, which includes impactful stints at middle and high schools, as well as her tenure as principal at Yerba Buena High School, has earned her commendations from esteemed entities such as the City of San Jose Arenas, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Cortese and Lee, the California State Assembly Karla, California State Senate Beals, and U.S. Congress member Zoe Lofgren.

Prior to her illustrious educational career, Ms. Pollett embarked on a remarkable journey as a 20-year-old immigrant with limited English proficiency and only the clothes on her back. Through sheer determination and resilience, she attended night school while working as a manicurist and seamstress, eventually earning acceptance to UCLA. There, she attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and later completed her Master’s Degree in Administration (Education).

Ms. Pollett's upbringing instilled in her the values of hard work, the transformative power of education, and the importance of community. Grateful for the opportunities afforded to her in this country, she remains steadfast in her commitment to supporting our children, ensuring they have access to a future brimming with success and happiness.

Join us in rallying behind Mary Hiền Pollett, the dedicated leader championing progress for our Evergreen community.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• Recognition from Congressman, Ro Khanna in 2024
• Commendation from Board of Supervisor, Otto Lee in 2021
• Recognition from Congress Woman Zoe Lofgren in 2018 & 2020
• Commendation from State of California Senate, Beals in 2020
• Commendation from County Supervisor, Cortese in 2020
• Recognition from SJ Councilwoman, Arenas in 2020
• Commendations from California State Assembly in 2018 & 2020
• Recognition for Warrior Prides at Yerba Buena HS in 2013

SCHOOL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• DBIA, Western States design build institute project of the year, 2019
• YWCA: Project Cornerstone Caring School Award, 2014
• Santa Clara County, Bold Steps for Children Award, 2013
• Glenn Hoffman: Exemplary Programs award for Santa Clara County (ADA recovery), 2013
• California State Golden Bell Award, College Connection Academy, 2015

SERVICE ACTIVITY:

• San Jose Mayoral Transition, Community Safety Committee, 2022-present
• COVID-19 Safety Committee member, 2019-2021
• Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC) Visiting committee member in various sites, 2013-present
• Initial Planning Curriculum (IPC), East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD), California, 2014- 2019
• Algebra I and Algebra II Benchmark Committee member, ESUHSD, California, 2008 - 2013

Bryan Do, Entreprenuer

Managing Partner, Karakul

Co-Founder, Hermes AI

Vice President, East Side Union High School Board of Trustees

Bryan Do and his family escaped from the communist regime in Vietnam to find freedom and opportunities in America.  Since arriving in 1983, they have called San José their home.  Aside from a few years studying in Europe as a college student, Bryan has been fortunate to have lived on the East Side of San José from elementary school to now.

Since high school, Bryan has generally held 2 or 3 jobs at the same time to support his family and to save toward investments. In his early career days, Bryan worked as a product & project manager while dabbing in investments, mostly in techs and real estate.  One of his first jobs out of college was as “Knowledge Engineer” at a Fortune 500 company working on what was at that time, a “cutting-edge” project that provides the foundation for today’s AI and Machine Learning innovations.

For almost 2 decades, Bryan has become a serial entrepreneur with a few reasonable exits.  His previous startups in the data science space had developed processes and technologies that materially assist financial institutions and US government agencies to combat money laundering and other illicit activities.  He and his team are now building a conversation artificial intelligence engine with the hope of revolutionizing the customer service experience and improving the efficiency of sales processes.

Bryan Do was elected to the Board of Trustees of East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) in 2020 and is currently serving as Vice President of the Board.  ESUHSD covers a geographical area that is roughly half of the City of San José, approximately half a million residents, with over 20,000 high school students, and less than 2000 employees at 16 high schools.  Long before Bryan was elected to the Board, his father was a classified employee at East Side Union High School District.

Elected during the middle of the pandemic, Bryan hopes to share his approach of accountability, common sense, and respect for education & educators to the Board.  At both private and public board meetings, he often encourages the Administration and his colleagues on the Board to gain a better understanding of the financial and economic realities that we must face with declining enrollment, coupled with unpredictable federal and state funding.  Bryan espouses concepts such as return on investment (ROI), diminishing marginal return, expected value (EV), etc. as part of the decision analysis.  When it comes to multi-million dollars and other important decisions, Bryan often asks his colleagues and the Administration to analyze and measure the objectives and key results quantitatively, in addition to the usual words of hopes and dreams.  The District needs to respect the investment that the East Side community and surrounding neighborhoods have made by ensuring the success of our current and future scholars through the long-term viability of the District.

On a more personal note, Bryan and his wife are proud to be raising their three young children with limited social media, virtually no video game or other tech distractions while increasing their children’s opportunities to read and play, watch the sunrises, and share the fruits and vegetables from the garden with their neighbors.

Hong Chu, Sr. Director of Operations, CLEAR

Hong Chu is a results-driven professional with extensive experience in optimizing business operations and driving success. With a career spanning over two decades, she has demonstrated profound expertise in leadership, recruitment, relationship building, and sales growth. Starting at Hertz in 1997 as a Customer Representative, she advanced through roles including Station Manager, Area Fleet Manager, City Manager, and Area Manager in Oakland and San Francisco airports, accumulating 16 years of experience there.

In July 2013, she joined CLEAR, where she served as General Manager of the Bay Area, later advancing to Regional Director in 2016, Senior Regional Director in January 2021, and then Senior Director of Operations in July 2021. She led the TSA PreCheck launch for the entire company, managed contract negotiations, and spearheaded vertical growth initiatives. Her operational acumen and strategic prowess have been pivotal in managing day-to-day multi-unit operations, driving operational excellence, and growing the member base from 300,000 to over 10 million. Additionally, she has played a key role in developing talent, promoting numerous employees to higher managerial and directorial roles.

Phan Ngo, Chief, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

Born in Vietnam and fleeing during the fall of Saigon in 1975, he and his family ultimately settled in San Francisco. His early exposure to crime in his neighborhood spurred his ambition to become a police officer, aiming to protect and help those around him.

Pursuing a degree in Administrative Justice at San Jose State University, he was influenced by a class discussion on the recruitment challenges of Asians in police forces. This motivated him to join the San Jose Police Department (SJPD), where he started his extensive 27-year career.

Over the years, he has held several key positions within the SJPD and other organizations, driving initiatives and handling significant responsibilities. His roles have included Deputy Chief of Police across multiple bureaus, where he managed hundreds of personnel and multi-million dollar budgets. He played a pivotal role during a crisis targeting Vietnamese families by gangs, directly engaging with the community to address these challenges.

Chief Ngo has also been instrumental in implementing community policing strategies, significantly influencing the policing model in San Jose and beyond. He continued his impactful career as the Director of Public Safety for Sunnyvale, California, leading a fully integrated police, fire, and emergency services department for a major metropolitan area.

Beyond his administrative and field roles, he has been a staunch advocate for community engagement and mentoring the next generation of law enforcement officers. His leadership philosophy emphasizes compassion, community connection, and the pursuit of passion in one's career.

Currently, as Chief of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, he remains dedicated to fostering strong community relationships and inspiring young Vietnamese Americans and others to follow their passions in law enforcement and public safety.

Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety is the largest fully integrated public safety department in the country, providing Police-Fire-EMS services. The Department has approximately 300 personnel.  Sunnyvale is the seventh largest city in the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland metropolitan area and is recognized for its diversity, safety, and as an innovation hub in Silicon Valley. Sunnyvale consistently has ranked as one of the safest cities in America.  

Chief Ngo has been a recipient of several community awards. He has received the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Silicon Valley Community Bridge Building Award and recognitions from the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County for his services to the Vietnamese American Community. 

Chief Ngo has a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from San Jose State University. 

Chief Ngo is a graduate of the Los Angeles Police Department Leadership Program, the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police. He has also been awarded the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Certificate in Public Leadership.