[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF PATRICIA MILJANICH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 26, 2015

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Patricia Miljanich, a 
departing member of the Board of Trustees of the San Mateo County 
Community College District. Ms. Miljanich has served the public in her 
position since 1995, and she has been part of a board of trustees that 
has created over 20 years an outstanding college system for residents.
  When Trustee Miljanich began her service, the district had decades-
old buildings, stagnant enrollment, and curriculum that needed 
upgrading. She and her fellow trustees went to work hiring new staff, 
passing several bonds, and overseeing the resurrection of a community 
gem. In addition to her role as a trustee, Patricia Miljanich has 
served on the board of the nonprofit corporation overseeing an 
innovative housing project on the campuses of the community colleges. 
She has also served as a board member of the foundation supporting the 
community colleges.
  As a result of her leadership and that of her board colleagues, the 
San Mateo County Community Colleges now have stunning state-of-the-art 
campuses, classes that offer a broad path to a four year institution, 
and several shorter programs that prepare students to be job ready 
through two year degrees and certificates. As a pathway to lifelong 
learning and prosperity, the college district reflects the vision of 
Trustee Miljanich that every young person, and many who are in mid-
career or retirement, should view the community colleges as their 
ongoing ticket to a rigorous education.
  Ms. Miljanich has another side to her public service beyond her years 
as a trustee. At one point she served as a field representative for a 
member of the state assembly, and as a legal advocate for low income 
children while Director of Legal Services for Children in San 
Francisco.
  Most of all, Ms. Miljanich has distinguished herself as a remarkable 
leader of the nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an 
organization that pairs caring adults with children who are in the 
protection of the courts when their parents cannot care for them. There 
is no question that Patricia Miljanich, in this role, has saved the 
lives of many children. CASA is an extraordinary organization which 
brings out the best of caring volunteers and matches it with the most 
basic need of a child: to have a friend and advocate during times of 
tremendous insecurity and trauma.
  Patricia is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the 
University of San Francisco School of Law. Her greatest archievements, 
no doubt, are her four children, Nicolene Mefford, Martine Miljanich, 
Peter Miljanich, and Sophia Miljanich, and her four grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker and members, Patricia Miljanich is retiring from the 
Board of Trustees of the San Mateo County Community College District, 
but she will remain very active in our community. She put in countless 
hours during her 20 years of service to the district, and offered 
decades of additional help to children and our most vulnerable 
residents. As she leaves, the wind at her back is the force of those 
praying for her to succeed in her next adventure. As she will 
experience shortly, this wind will likely be a gale force event, so 
beloved is Patricia Miljanich in San Mateo County.

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