News
News Release:
 Personnel Chief, Area 4 Superintendent Selected
Key Staff Added to San Diego Unified Team
August 8, 2007

SAN DIEGO – Karen Frison is the new Area 4 Superintendent and Sam Wong the new Chief Human Resources Officer, as the San Diego Board of Education Tuesday ratified Superintendent Carl Cohn’s recommendations.

Wong has been Director of Leadership Development for the San Diego Unified School District for more than a year. His career in the district began in 1972 as a teacher at Morse High School. He was principal at John Muir Alternative and Challenger Middle schools before joining the San Diego County Office of Education as Leadership Services Coordinator in 2005.

As Chief Human Resources Officer, Wong will supervise the employment, personnel, benefits administration and other tasks for the more than 13,000 teachers, administrators and staff at the school district. He replaces Ruth Peshkoff, who moved on to a position in a Sacramento, Calif., area school district.

Frison joins San Diego Unified after being Assistant Superintendent, Elementary Schools, for the West Contra Costa Unified School District in northern California. A 20-year employee of the district, she has worked as a teacher, principal and regional superintendent in the 31,000-student district.

As Area 4 Superintendent, Frison will supervise 24 schools in several San Diego neighborhoods, including Del Cerro, Webster, City Heights and San Carlos. She replaces Vince Matthews, who took a job with the Oakland, Calif., school district.