Meet Dominique

Lifelong Sacramentan, education advocate, and policy leader running for Sacramento County Office of Education, Area 1

Tim has been featured on...

About Dominique

Dominique Donette is a lifelong Sacramentan, education advocate, and policy leader running for Sacramento County Office of Education, Area 1. Raised in Sacramento’s historic Oak Park neighborhood, Dominique understands firsthand what it means to grow up in a community full of brilliance, resilience, and potential — and also to see how unequal systems can limit opportunity when families and schools aren’t given what they need.

Dominique’s commitment to educational equity is not theoretical. It is personal. It comes from lived experience, from watching the barriers that families face every day, and from spending her career working to ensure that zip code, income, race, or circumstance do not determine whether a child becomes a strong reader, graduates, or reaches their dreams.

“

Proin neque egestas fusce morbi nunc ornare nisl, massa tincidunt et neque.

Dominique Donette

Dominique approaches leadership with two guiding questions:

(1) How can I meaningfully contribute to my community?
(2) What is possible within the current system — and how do we push it to do better?

After years of working across California’s education landscape, Dominique believes there is no better opportunity to bring her personal values and professional expertise together than serving on the Sacramento County Board of Education.

Why Dominique is Running

Dominique is running because she believes Sacramento County can do more to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education — and she believes the County Office of Education should be a stronger partner to families, school districts, educators, and community-based organizations.

Her platform is rooted in a simple but urgent truth: literacy is liberation.
If children cannot read, they are locked out of every other opportunity — from math and science to history, graduation, college, careers, and civic participation. Dominique is running to ensure that the Sacramento County Office of Education prioritizes early literacy, supports evidence-based reading instruction, and ensures that schools have the tools to help every student succeed.

Dominique also believes that educational success cannot happen without supporting the adults who make learning possible. That means treating teachers, school leaders, and classified staff as essential partners — ensuring they have strong training, meaningful support, and the resources to do their jobs well.

A Track Record of Getting Results

Dominique brings over 15 years of nonprofit and public policy experience focused on improving outcomes for students and addressing systemic inequities in education. She has worked across the sector — in advocacy, policy development, coalition-building, and community engagement — with a consistent focus on creating real change, not just conversations.

Prior to her current role, Dominique served as an external affairs consultant at Urban Ed Academy, where she supported efforts to increase representation of Black male teachers and strengthen educator pipelines. She later represented the California/Hawai‘i State NAACP as a lobbyist and public affairs specialist, advocating for policy reforms rooted in equity and civil rights.

Dominique is especially proud of her work in post-Katrina New Orleans with Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools, where she helped elevate youth voice and community leadership in education decisions during a period of massive disruption. That experience shaped her belief that the people most impacted by education policy — students and families — must be at the center of education decision-making.

In her current role at EdVoice, Dominique leads government affairs work across California, building bipartisan relationships, shaping statewide education policy proposals, and helping advance reforms designed to strengthen schools and improve student outcomes. She has worked directly with legislative leaders, agency officials, and community organizations to move policies forward — and understands how to navigate systems to get results.

Accomplishments

Rooted in Community

Dominique remains deeply connected to her community. She currently serves on the boards of one school and two nonprofit organizations, and she regularly volunteers with community initiatives and campaigns aligned with her values.

Boards / Organizations

Her leadership is grounded in relationship-building and accountability. Dominique believes families deserve transparency, responsiveness, and real partnership from public institutions. As a County Board member, she will prioritize listening to caregivers, working with educators, and ensuring Sacramento County resources are aligned with student success.

Education and Training

Dominique earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a Master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership as a fellow in the Broad Residency in Urban Education. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) at Tennessee State University, where her research focuses on strengthening Black teacher pipelines and ensuring students have access to educators who reflect their communities.

While Dominique is grateful for formal education, she is equally shaped by the wisdom of her elders, her family, and the mentors who have poured into her and taught her what leadership looks like in practice.

Dominique’s Vision for SCOE

Dominique is running for Sacramento County Office of Education because she believes the County Office must be more than an administrative body — it must be a force for student opportunity.

Her vision includes:

Prioritizing early literacy and strong reading outcomes
Supporting educators with high-quality professional learning and retention strategies
Ensuring students with disabilities and students learning English are not left behind
Expanding pathways for student success, including career-connected learning
Strengthening partnerships with families and community organizations
Ensuring accountability, transparency, and responsible stewardship of public dollars

Dominique believes every child deserves to be seen, supported, and challenged — and that education should be a pathway to freedom, opportunity, and a full life.

She is running to serve the community that raised her, and to ensure Sacramento County’s education system works for every student — not just the students who already have the most.