Dan (Daniel) Ayala
(Term:  June 14, 2011 -  June 14, 2015)

Dan Ayala is a longtime Solano County resident who recently retired with 37 years of service from Travis Air Force Base as a Quality Control Inspector and Air Force Reserve Technical Sergeant.  He has served for 8 years on the Dixon Planning Planning Commission and before that, for 7 years on the Dixon Parks and Recreation Commission.  He has a long standing interest in children and family services, having served for 15 years as a soccer coach (and 6 years as the soccer board president) in Dixon. Dan was also recently named Dixon Citizen of the Year. Dan and his wife Kathy have 3 children.  His 4 grandchildren ages 8, 2, 6 months and 1 month all reside in Dixon.

 
Stephan Betz
(Term:  June 26, 2007 - July 1, 2011)

Mr. Betz is Assistant Director of Operations for Solano County Health and Social Services. His interest lies in early brain development and the social consequences of failing to support children in early childhood. Together with First 5 Contra Costa, Mr. Betz  helped facilitate the production of the Contra Costa Children's Report Card 2002. Mr. Betz holds a doctorate in Education from the University of Fridericiana in Germany. He is a board-certified music therapist, a certified group psychotherapist and a certified community action professional. Mr. Betz lives in Benicia with his wife and two sons and often visits his daughter from his first marriage in Adelaide, Australia. 

Dana Dean, Vice-Chair
(Term:  June 23, 2009 - June 22, 2013)

Sheryl Fairchild
(Term:  June 2, 2009 - June 1, 2013)

Ms. Fairchild brings to the Commission 25 years of program leadership experience in the fields of child care, child abuse prevention and child sexual abuse treatment, previously serving as the Director of the Community Treatment Center (Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program) in Fairfield and Siskiyou Child Care Council in far northern California's Siskiyou County. She is currently employed as a Program Specialist for the Foundation for California Community Colleges in Sacramento, working on the implementation of the Child Development Careers Program at community college campuses throughout California. She received her BA degree from Humboldt State University in Psychology with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education and received her Masters degree in May 2008 in Women’s Studies from San Francisco State University.  Ms. Fairchild has made her home in Fairfield since 1991 along with her husband, Dennis Reid.


Debbee Gossell
(Term:  July 26, 2011 -  August 28, 2015)

Ms. Gossell has worked in the field of early intervention for over 13 years as a speech language pathologist and/or special education teacher in Solano County. She currently is working as a preschool special education teacher for students with communication disorders. She is interested in Autism and enjoys teaching young children with Autism.

Debbee holds bachelor and master’s degrees in Speech Pathology and Audiology, as well as a lifetime Rehabilitative Services Credential with Special Class Authorization, California License in Speech Pathology and Audiology, and Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech and Hearing Association.

She is parent to Kasey, who was born severely premature in 1984, weighing one and a half pounds. She founded and operated Parents of Prematures, a support group for the March of Dimes in Tampa, FL, and received the 1985 Franklin D. Roosevelt Volunteer of the Year Award from the March of Dimes for the greater Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL area. Debbee is married to Lowell and has been fortunate to (step) parent Heather, Molly and Zack. She currently has four grandchildren, Klayton, Dylan, Craigen and Ava.

Elaine Norinsky, Ed.D.
(Term: June 2, 2009 - June 1, 2013)

Dr. Norinsky is a retired Dean of Health Occupations at Solano Community College.  She holds a Doctorate in Counseling and Educational Psychology from University of San Francisco, B.S. and M.S. in Psychology from University of California Medical Center, San Francisco.  Dr. Norinsky is affiliated with the Institutional Review Committee-David Grant Medical Center, Napa-Solano Girl Scouts, American Nurses Association, and Association of Legal Nurse Consultants. Elaine has one daughter and one grandson and resides in Vallejo.

Linda Seifert, Chair
(Term:  January 1, 2011- December 31, 2011)    

Linda Seifert is committed to ensuring that health and social services are available to the very young and seniors in our community. Of equal importance to Seifert is improving the quality of education in our communities.

Her community service included terms as member and Vice President of the Solano County Library Foundation, member of the Child Haven Board of Directors, member and President of the Green Valley Landowners Association Board of Directors, and member of the Advocates for the Arts Board of Directors.

She was raised in a small farming community in Minnesota and moved to California with her family when she was a high school student. She graduated from California State University in Fullerton [English 1971] and the University of the Pacific Mc George School of Law [1984]. She was a member of the Law Review, the Moot Court Competition team, and the Traynor Honor Society.

The first woman partner at the firm of McNamara Law Firm in Walnut Creek [1985-1997], Seifert predominately represented individuals, cities, school districts, non-profit agencies, businesses and homeowners associations during her career. She served as President of the Contra Costa County Women’s Bar Association and as a member of the board of directors of the Contra Costa Bar Association.

In 1997, she joined the staff of the California Dental Association, a large health care non-profit located in Sacramento, as General Counsel.

When she retired in 2003, she pursued her passion for community work. She is a compassionate public advocate who has spent the last five years after retiring from the practice of law working to improve the lives of Solano County residents.

She and her husband Roddy Feldman, a retired Fairfield dentist, live in Green Valley. 



Jay Speck
(Term: March 2, 2011- March 1, 2015)

Jay Speck, Solano County Superintendent of Schools, has been a resident and an educator in Solano County for over 34 years giving him particular insight into the communities he serves. Jay’s career with the Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) began as a special education teacher at the elementary and secondary levels. As his career with SCOE progressed, he held positions as a program manager, principal, director of special education, and assistant superintendent of human resources before being sworn in as County Superintendent on January 3, 2011.

Jay received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis. He earned his teaching credentials from California State University (CSU), Los Angeles, and CSU Sacramento. He holds an administrative credential and a Masters degree in Educational Administration from CSU Sacramento.

Jay represents Solano County public education as a member of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA), the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) of Solano, and the Solano Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

During his career, Jay has received extensive training and experience in interest-based problem solving and collective bargaining solidifying his reputation as a trusted leader, highly-skilled problemsolver, and ardent collaborator. Coworkers describe him as extremely fair-minded, and he is well known for his strong beliefs in the potential of every student to learn and develop academically.

Jay raised his family in Solano County, and his children attended local public schools. He currently lives in Vacaville with his wife, Suzanne. They have four grown children and two grandchildren. During his Oath of Office speech, Jay shared his motivation for seeking the county superintendency and issued a call to action for the duration of his four-year term. “I believe in the deepest parts of my heart and intellect that our democracy and our economic well-being depends on a strong public school system. If we care about our future, if we care about California, we will invest in public education.”

Ms. Thigpen, MPH is a Health Services Manager with the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Bureau, Solano County Health and Social Services Department.  She has more than 20 years of experience working with mothers, fathers and their infants and children.  Children of many of the families served in the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Bureau are at risk for prematurity, developmental delay, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and infant mortality.  As the Black Infant Health Manager, Ms. Thigpen has developed and designed high-quality, culturally appropriate services to address their needs.

Ms. Thigpen’s deep commitment to community involvement to promote infant and child health is demonstrated by her success in cultivating relationships within the community to improve access to medical and social services.  Under her leadership, the Solano County BIH Program has developed formal agreements with Women Infants and Children, Adolescent Family Life, Child Start, Inc (Head Start), North Bay ABC Clinic, Eligibility Division Cal Works Program, True Love Baptist Church and Everlasting Hope Ministries and many other community agencies.  Currently, she is working on agreements with Experience Works and California State University Hayward to get volunteers/interns for the local MCAH Bureau.

Her heart’s work is in prevention.  As a First 5 Solano Children and Families Commissioner, Ms. Thigpen is a children’s advocate.  She is the past Chair of the Program Committee and the current Chair for the Internal Systems Committee.  The BIH Program is a collaborative partner for the Health Disparities Steering Committee, BabyFirst Solano, Integrated Family Support Initiative, Synergy and others.

Ms. Thigpen is known for her tenacity and quiet strength.  She is dedicated to saving babies and improving the quality of life for the members of the community.