PORT ANGELES — A parent who holds a Ph.D. in structural engineering was unanimously selected to fill a vacancy on the Port Angeles School Board on Monday night.
Lynn Geren, a mother of two who moved to Port Angeles eight years ago, will likely assume her new post in August, after Jessica Schreiber officially leaves the Port Angeles School District board July 17.
Geren’s appointment will last until December, when the winner of a November election to fill the vacancy is sworn in.
Geren said she will run for election to the seat in the fall.
She said her husband, Jim, a physician, often encouraged her to run for a School Board seat since they moved to Port Angeles in 1997.
But it wasn’t until Schreiber told her last fall that she would be resigning in the summer to move to her Chicago that Geren actually applied.
“I have a lot of energy, and all my life I’ve dedicated my time to community activities,” Geren said.
Though she holds a doctorate in structural engineering, she gave up her career to raise her two children and enjoy Port Angeles’ quality of life, she said.
School district activities
She is a member of the school district’s Policy Review Committee, the Port Angeles Education Foundation and the Port Angeles Citizens for Education committee.
“I’m not sure my skin is so thick,” said Geren when asked if she’s thought about the public pressure School Board members often face.
“But I think I’ll develop it.”
Five applicants for the vacancy were interviewed by the School Board on Monday afternoon before moving into an executive session to discuss the candidates.
Just after 7 p.m., it reconvened in open session and voted unanimously to appoint Geren, with Schreiber abstaining.
