Election 2026: The Marin Board of Education Area 5 candidates at a glance

Avery Lieberman, challenger

• Age: 65

• Years as resident: 31

• Occupation: Dentist, former assistant professor of dentistry at the University of California at San Francisco and University of the Pacific, former dentistry-practice consultant

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California at Santa Barbara, doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of California at Los Angeles

• Civic background: Former advisory board member for WestAmerica Bank and Family Service Agency of Marin; former Tiburon Peninsula Little League commissioner

• Key issues: Refusing county-paid health benefits for board members, improving student reading metrics, maintaining local school districts, steering county money toward classroom needs

• Quote: “I’m not there for fun, I’m there to make the experience better for the students. This is not about me. This is about the students.”

  
  

Marilyn Nemzer, incumbent

• Age: 84

• Years as resident: 43

• Occupation: Founder and former executive director of The Book Exchange nonprofit, retired teacher and school counselor

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley, master’s degree in French and teaching credential from San Francisco State University, school-administration and counseling credentials from the University of San Francisco

• Civic background: Member of Marin County Board of Education since 2001, former member of the Marin County Committee on School District Organization, co-founder of the Efficiency and Effectiveness Collaborative

• Key issues: Maintaining the county Office of Education’s long-term programs, including outdoor education at Walker Creek Ranch and Career Technical Education; expanding district collaboration to share services and cut costs; defending the county-paid health benefit

• Quote: “I walk the talk, I talk the talk, I run the talk. I do everything — I’ve done everything in my life for children, for teachers, for schools and I want to continue.”