Dr. Susan Salcido has served as Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools since 2017, supporting 20 school districts and 10 charter schools, and overseeing 200 programs that serve 70,000 children and youth countywide, including services for the county’s most vulnerable students. During her tenure, Dr. Salcido has advanced key priorities in public education, including school safety, youth mental wellness, educator recruitment and retention, and the expansion of early education and college & career pathways.

 

Educated in Santa Maria’s public schools, Dr. Salcido earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UC Santa Barbara and a doctorate from USC in organizational change and leadership. She began as a high school English teacher and coach, later serving as assistant principal, principal, and deputy County Superintendent, before becoming County Superintendent of Schools in 2017.

 

She and longtime public high school teacher, Bard Salcido, Jr., have been married for 23 years, and together they have two children, Samantha and Nicholas.

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Dr. Salcido has been recognized statewide with the Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Administrator Excellence, named a Woman of Achievement by the Association of Women in Communications, and honored as Administrator of the Year for ACSA Region 13. She received a Santa Barbara County Women of the Year Award for the 19th Senate District and the 37th Assembly District.

 

At the local level, Dr. Salcido is a Commissioner for First 5 Santa Barbara County and serves on the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board (WDB). She was a Katherine Harvey Fellow, class of 2010-2011, and a mentor in the Emerging Leaders Program, Santa Barbara County. 

 

Dr. Salcido is a member of the YouthWell Advisory Board, the Santa Barbara Fighting Back Leadership Coalition, the South Coast Youth Safety Partnership, the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Women & Girls committee, and the Santa Barbara Behavioral Health Collaborative.

 

Dr. Salcido provides support to statewide partners in areas related to education, and has been actively involved in organizations including the: California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA); Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Curriculum; Instruction and Accountability Committee; California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE); State Board of Education’s California Practitioner’s Advisory Group; and serves on the board of WestEd, a nonprofit education research organization.

 

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