Susan Castillo
| Susan Castillo | |
|---|---|
| Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
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In office January 6, 20031 – June 29, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Stan Bunn |
| Succeeded by | Office eliminated |
| Oregon State Senate | |
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In office 1992–1997 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 14, 1951 Los Angeles, CA |
| Political party | Democratic2 |
| Spouse(s) | Paul Machu |
| Residence | Eugene, OR |
| Occupation | Broadcast Journalist |
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1Re-elected in 2006 and 2010. 2Superintendency is a non-partisan office. |
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Susan Castillo (born August 14, 1951) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who most recently served as Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2003 to 2012. A Democrat, she also served from 1997 to 2003 in the Oregon State Senate. Before entering politics, she had pursued a career in broadcast journalism, first for Oregon Public Broadcasting, and later for KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon. Upon her resignation as superintendent to pursue an opportunity in the private sector, the position was eliminated as an elective office.
A third-generation Hispanic American,> Castillo was born in Los Angeles, and raised there by her mother, who had not finished eighth grade. Castillo cites watching her mother's struggles as a source of her understanding of the importance of education. "Growing up and seeing your parent experience that," she told Northwest Education in a 2006 interview, "you really do make that connection between education and opportunity."
By the mid-1970s, Castillo was working as a secretary in the Affirmative Action Office of Oregon State University (OSU) for its director, Pearl Gray. Gray urged her to consider pursuing a college degree, which she did, graduating from OSU in 1981 with a BA in communications.
In 1982, Castillo began an award-winning broadcast journalism career, joining the reporting team at Oregon Public Radio; she became a reporter for KVAL-TV in 1982. As a journalist, she was frequently called upon to cover or comment on Oregon government and politics.
Castillo was the first Hispanic woman be seated in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and would later become the first to gain election to a statewide office.
She was first appointed by the Lane County commissioners to fill a vacancy in the Oregon State Senate in 1996, winning re-election in 1998. She became vice-chair of the Education Committee, dealing with such issues as charter schools, teacher tenure and school reform, and was selected an assistant Democratic leader for the 1999 and 2001 legislative sessions. During her tenure as a state senator, she worked to bolster funding for public schools, foster innovation in school programs, and remove barriers to achievement.
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