Shownotes:
Get ready, friends! Zandra is a podcast party! Known for her positivity and her ability to lift others up, ZJG still faces big challenges and her own imposter syndrome. Listen as she shares her secrets to winking at challenges and fixing her crown when it falls.
About Our Guest:
Zandra Jo Galvan has served as Superintendent of the Greenfield Union School District since August 10, 2017. Zandra has worked in public education since 1993 and began her career as an elementary classroom teacher for GUSD where she also attended kindergarten through graduation. Returning to serve as Superintendent allowed her childhood dreams to come true.
Twitter: @zjgalvan Instagram: @zangalvan
About Lainie:
Lainie Rowell is an educator, international consultant, podcaster, and TEDx speaker. She is the lead author of Evolving Learner and a contributing author of Because of a Teacher. Her latest book, Evolving with Gratitude, was just released. An experienced teacher and district leader, her expertise includes learner-driven design, community building, online/blended learning, and professional learning. Learn more at linktr.ee/lainierowell.
Twitter - @LainieRowell
Instagram - @LainieRowell
Evolving with Gratitude, the book, is now available! Purchase here!
You can also get bulk orders for your staff (10 copies or more) at a discounted price! Just fill out the form linked below and someone will get back to you ASAP! bit.ly/ewgbulkdiscount
Transcript:
Lainie Rowell: Hello, hello, my friends. We have Zandra Jo Galvan with us today. Hi Zandra. How are you?
Zandra Jo Galvan: Hi, Lainie. I'm doing fabulous today. Thanks so much for having me on your podcast. I'm excited.
Lainie Rowell: I'm excited. I'm thrilled, and I know you're super busy and you've got a lot going on, so I'm gonna try and keep you moving and onto your rest of your day, but I just am grateful for this little bit of time we get together.
So, I'm gonna say a little bit about you, Zandra, but it's going to be insufficient and I'd like you to, to jump in with all the other, at least some of the other amazing things. I think we could be here all day with you sharing all the wonderful work you're doing, but hit some of the highlights that I will miss.
But just to start off with Zandra Jo Galvan is the Superintendent of Greenfield Union School District. She's been in public education since 93. Oh my gosh. I just saw the funniest thing. I think it was on Instagram and someone was talking about 30 years ago, and I went, yay, the seventies. And they're like, no, 1993.
I'm the seventies baby. That hit me so hard. I was like, wait, oh my gosh, 30 years ago isn't the seventies anymore? I'm showing my ages anyways.
Zandra Jo Galvan: I know, I think I'm in that same time warp with you.
Lainie Rowell: Exactly. Okay, so I, I have not done a good job of introducing you, but Zandra I'm gonna ask you to please tell us all, all the wonderful things you can.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Oh, thanks so much Lainie, and again, just a pleasure to like meet you as close to person as possible. But yes, I am so thrilled to be the superintendent of the Greenfield Union School District where I attended as a little girl from kindergarten through graduation. So that in itself is just an extra set of joy and passion in my heart when I get to walk through classrooms and see kids that I get to just motivate and inspire to be what I do or anything they want to do.
Super excited about that. I could just tell you yesterday I was in a preschool classroom where a little girl was admiring my heels. So what did I do? Got on the floor, took off my heels, put them on her. And she was just beaming with light. So the little things up to the big things that I get to do as superintendent just fills my heart with gratitude.
And so that's just a little bit about, yes, I'm here. Some of the other things that I get to do and I say I get to do them because I'm super fortunate. To be able to be a person that build relationships with others and really leans on that side of the interpersonal skillset that we get to just possess in the emotional intelligence that so many of us lean on as just a character trait of how I was raised as a child.
So some of the things I get to do that are, you know, are on some of the things that are on my docket is I get to be the president a fabulous organization called CALSA, right here in California. It's the California Association of Latin Superintendents and Administrators. I get to be the president. I get to be on the board for ALAS, which is the association of the Latin School Administrators and Superintendents on the national level.
I get to be a mentor for aspiring superintendents in lots of different places. AASA is one of 'em that is true to my heart. For ACSA, which is the California Administrator Organization for District Administrator. Also with them and I know they just merged I think with some other like FETC and some of those other organizations and ISTE.
So I'm just really proud and honored to be able to be asked to do those kinds of things cuz people see value in what I bring and it's so reciprocal when I get to inspire someone else, they inspire me just as much and. Yeah, just, that's just a little bit of what I get to do in my spare time. .
Lainie Rowell: Well, I wish people could see you.
You light up when you talk and you make me light up when you talk. And it's just so wonderful that mindset you have of, "I get to". From the little things to the big things and all the stuff you're doing within your district and beyond your district to really build everyone up. Thank you for some of those highlights. And now I'm gonna ask you what, what some people say is the toughest question. I ask the first one, and I mean, you exude this in everything you do, but I just would love to hear in your own words, what does gratitude mean to you?
Zandra Jo Galvan: Oh, that is like how I live my life.
Gratitude, just incredibly grateful for us having the opportunity to be in this space. Gratitude for those that came before me, that came to this country just looking for a better life and never taking anything for granted. So gratitude is the simplest things we do every day from my social media posting a positive quote that inspires me, that hopefully inspires someone else.
And the gratitude for having a family that supports me that I love to support so much gratitude for being able to be in this position of superintendent, but then so grateful in having gratitude for all of the little things that I gave my whole life to leading up to this. When I was a classroom teacher, I was the best darn classroom teacher you could ever imagine.
Not looking for anything next level. I just wanted to give my entire being to that moment and live in that moment and do everything I can to be my best version of myself, because that would make my parents and my family proud. And then moving into a coaching thing, probably one of my favorite jobs was being an academic coach or just a coach to help support people through the consultant hat or the, you know, coaching hat and just giving them the advice to help them support them in that moment, or allowing them to get to their best version of themselves.
So just really grateful for each of those steps that have led me here. And then super grateful to be a mom and to wake up every day to see the beautiful children that are in my life personally. That are also the children that I get to serve in my professional life that I treat as my babies, because when you are so into my positionality or whatever, we get to lead, I never take that for granted ever. And I, I know that I can be replaced at any moment. So I need to always do like the best, whatever that is, and to go extra miles because our kids deserve it. So I think leading life and waking up every day just full of gratitude for these moments because they do move so quickly and this moment that we have right now, Lainie is irreplaceable.
And it's a moment in time that we never get back. But if I bring my full self to this moment with you we can't go wrong. So leading a life of genuine gratitude and gratefulness for the opportunities that we get to. Yeah.
Lainie Rowell: I love everything you said, and I'm just soaking it in. That idea of never taking the simplest things for granted. That's just how you live your life. And I see that in everything you do.
We're connected on social media, and by the way, you mentioned earlier the positives you put out there, they make my day, they make me happy. So keep doing that. I appreciate all the positivity that you put out there, and I just see you doing that in every facet that, that I get to see. And, I know that it happens in a lot of other facets too, so I'm just thrilled that we get to talk a little bit more about this because I wanna know, and you can take this whatever direction you want, personal, professional, both. It's up to you, but you know, how does this manifest in your life?
What does this look like? And you, and you gave us some great examples, but I just wonder if there's anything else that kind of keeps you moving forward, not taking those things for granted.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah. So how did I kind of arrive at this person I am today? My birthday is next weekend and I'll be 52. And it's interesting to you know, share that I'm a seventies baby like you are.
Yeah. And to think about how we transform in our lives and how we become who we are today. So I'm a different person today than I was when I was in my twenties and when I was in my thirties and my forties. And it's so funny, like I was on a superintendent panel at a conference last week and they asked the question about like, how do you become who you are and when you enter spaces, like what's your mindset? And it's so funny to say some of the things that go through my mind, like in my twenties and my thirties, I was, I was always been a confident girl and, and I'll tell you why. You know, I'm the baby of six. So five brothers and sisters raised me and made this.
So if, if people don't like this energy that comes into a room, blame them because they absolutely gave me so much attention and joy and I'm nine years later. So imagine that. Like they were all born together and then nine years later, here comes the baby, right? And so babies are a little extra. I think research can be done about babies and how much extra they bring into a room. Like you can spot a baby in a, in a crowd. I think of a family just because we do have this extra kind of persona. So I think on that panel, when they asked me about that, I said, you know what I'm gonna go back to as I evolved and who I am today, I've always been a confident girl because I was the baby and because I got, you know, a lot of attention from my brothers and sisters and like making sure that, you know, when Zani, they call me, Zani gets out there in the world, we don't want her to get stepped on. We don't want her to not know that she has a presence and that she has this bright light that we don't want anyone to dim. Like they raised me that way to have that confidence. So the funny thing I shared with this panel and I said, you know what, when I was younger, my younger version myself, I used to walk into a room and wonder if people were gonna like me.
You know, like, were they gonna like me? Am I gonna fit in? Like, what if I don't, do I need to leave? Like, you know, what do I do? And now that I've arrived and I'm in my fifties, it's like, guess what? I'm gonna walk into a room and I'm gonna let you know if I like you. You know? So it's completely. That flipped the switch because as we evolve and we wanna give gratitude and be just grateful, I really don't have the personal time to spend with people who suck the life out of me. Mm-hmm. like I really don't. Yeah. And so as we go through life and you know, some of your listeners are gonna think like, man, I'm in this bad relationship, or I'm in this bad job, and it's like sucking the life. Well, don't stay. Life is way too short for you to live in a space that doesn't give you gratitude.
Like you need to be the best version of yourself every day of your life. And if you can't, and if you're not, then you need to really evaluate who you are, where you are, and what you give. So for me, I mean, that's a simple anecdote, but that's how I live my life today. If I'm in a space or in. You know, a tribe or a, a part of a, of a belonging group that doesn't serve who I am and I don't get to serve them, then the hard truth and the hard fact of the matter is you gotta remove yourself.
And so that's how I kind of have evolved and become this person, my family. Absolutely. But just learning through life and knowing that it's okay to say, you know, I can't be here, or to say, okay, I'm gonna be there. That just makes a world of difference.
Lainie Rowell: I had this little mind movie playing in my head where it's like young Zandra in her twenties going into a party and being like, are they gonna like me?
And then Uhhuh you now walking in and being like, if they don't like me, I'm in the wrong party and just like leaving.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah. Or walk into the room and say, I am the party.
Lainie Rowell: Exactly.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Like, let's go . I'll take you guys to another stage.
Lainie Rowell: Exactly. Everybody come with me. You should be with me. I'm gonna go.
Yeah, that's, that's so true. That's so true.
Yeah.
You know, I hear you expressing gratitude for how you have evolved into being confident and like you said, you'd always been confident, but just something to growing into, and I just, I've seen this over my life too, things where I would worry a lot about what other people thought, and I still probably worry a little too much, but now I'm much more focused on, maybe I'm not supposed to be around these people right now, or maybe this isn't the space for me.
And just thinking, okay, well let's, let's reevaluate. And so I think that's really good advice.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Absolutely.
Lainie Rowell: Both personally and professionally.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah, and I mean, and, and sometimes also though that may be the right space, but leveling with people and clear as kind. Right. Brene Brown says clear as kind, like just really being honest with people about how they might make you feel or how you might make them feel like? I want people to be honest with me. I wanna be honest with them. And perhaps it's a tweak. It's not a leave.
Lainie Rowell: Yeah.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Or a complete change, but just being able to communicate like this is how it's making me feel. And in order for me to be in my best version of myself and for you to be in your best passion driven life, we need to kind of share with each other in communicating what that is and perhaps that conversation.
and again, you know, through all the books we read, while no single conversation can, you know, change everything, it surely can change the trajectory of person's life that we know from, you know, the fabulous books we read. Yeah. Susan Scott .
Lainie Rowell: Yeah. I'm so glad you mentioned that cuz that is an important thing and I don't want anyone to think I'm suggesting just bail when it gets tough. But I think...
Zandra Jo Galvan: Exactly.
Lainie Rowell: You said something that was really... and I might have even heard this from Brene Brown too, but this idea of boundaries, and it's saying here's what is okay and here's what isn't. Okay. And sometimes you have to give both sides of it because sometimes it's not enough to just say, this is okay.
You also have to say, and that's not okay. And so sometimes being really explicit with people can help.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Absolutely. And in her work too. And I think also like in fierce conversations, as leaders, we sometimes have to have difficult conversations with people, and not because we like to do 'em, but because we must do them otherwise silence is permission to continue that behavior. And so I need to level with people and not in a way that's going to strip them of their human dignity. Never, ever, ever am I mean, in any sense of the way. I always will lead with heart and kind of just leveling with people. But understanding too that it is so powerful that it's gonna enrich the relationship when we do have conversation with people and we walk through life and there's so many people that come and go and stay and leave and all those kinds of things.
And so being able to level with another person in an honest conversation just allows you to not carry that heavy weight. Living the life of gratitude is also being happy in where you are. And we know that sometimes things make us sad and things will come in to enter our mind that compromises who we are.
And I'll share, you know, being vulnerable in a space with you and your listeners. Like there are many times when I let imposter syndrome take over my head and people might wonder like, what? You're always positive, you're always posting these wonderful things. You uplift women. How could you? No, I'm here to tell you that in my vulnerable me, I will do that.
And I have people that I can turn to to say, you know, I don't know if I'm being the best version of myself. I don't know if I have what it takes to do this, but within those circles, and I have many sister circles that just uplift me so often will say Zandra snap out of it. Like, let me fix your crown.
Here it is. You just lost it. You dropped it on the floor. So sorry. You were out of your body for a little bit. Welcome back. Here's your crown. You have everything that it has to take. And so often we do that for others, but forget that we need it too. So I'm super grateful to have people in my life that do that for me because there's no one above doubting ourselves.
We do doubt ourselves, but it's just the matter of don't doubt yourself for too long. It's good to doubt yourself. That just makes you human and make sure that you wanna do a better job. You know, whatever that is, you , just really make people proud and, you know, impact the most. But absolutely, we get knocked down, but it's in the rise when you are down that you become better and stronger in living your life.
Lainie Rowell: As you're talking, I'm thinking about how someone who rises to the level of influence and ability to make a difference that you are as superintendent. It's not because you wanna have those difficult conversations or because you think you have all the answers. It's because you care. It's your passion, and you're willing to keep going in spite of those challenges.
Is that fair to say?
Zandra Jo Galvan: That is absolutely fair to say. Challenges are gonna happen. It's just a guarantee change is gonna happen. That's a guarantee, right? We are gonna be faced with both positive and things that might challenge us. Any day of the week, any hour . It's, it's how we respond to them.
That makes the complete difference. Am I gonna allow this challenge to break me or am I gonna give it a wink and say, okay, I see you challenged. Let me see how this is something that I'm supposed to learn from it. And my younger version would've said, oh my God, why is this happening to me? Why me?
Right. , my more mature evolved version is gonna say, wow, this is happening to me. What am I supposed to learn from it? How am I gonna take this and be a stronger version of myself and use this experience to not only help and heal myself but heal and help others by advice and those kinds of things.
And I think that's why so often I'm tapped on the shoulder to be a mentor or a thought partner is because wisdom comes at all different ages, but it's, as you learn things, you become a better person and that I'm incredibly grateful for. That I've allowed to experience so many things. Whether I got knocked down or I stayed above, or I got, you know celebrated each of those shape who we are.
Lainie Rowell: I hear such a grateful disposition, in how you present yourself, everything you're sharing. And as I'm processing what you're saying, I'm thinking, I know, as a superintendent, you have real challenges. That just comes with that job. But the fact that you're able to take those moments, like when you're in the preschool and the little girls admiring your high heel shoes and you're like, oh, do you wanna try 'em on?
So for you to have this grateful disposition it's what gives you resilience. It's a coping mechanism in a way because it helps you to shift out of... and I have not been a superintendent, but I've been working closely enough with superintendents for long enough to know it's tough.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah.
Lainie Rowell: There's some real tough moments.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah.
Lainie Rowell: So to be able to find those, those bright spots, to be able to lean into those just moments of awe and wonder through the eyes of our kids, that's really special.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's the difference. You're absolutely, you hit it right on the head is in those moments when we do look at the circumstance and feel that we're gonna kind of wallow in that pity and sadness of like, oh my God, like what am I gonna do? I don't know what to do.
Reminding ourselves that everything is temporary, right? Reminding that this is a situation that is happening in this moment. Guess what? We are gonna overcome it. We're gonna figure out how to respond to it. And oftentimes, You know, just living in gratitude and knowing that it is gonna get better and having that outlook on life.
Then you start analyzing situations differently. Like, should there be a parent that comes into my space that is not happy about something I reflect and say, okay, you're a mom, you're a dad. You're living your life through your lens. You just love your kid. You love your kid so much that you feel it inclined to come and share this through your perspective.
It's not about me. It's not about the board, it's not about the school particularly that they're angry at. It's more about a circumstance that through their lens, through their experience in life has caused them to feel that way. As soon as you put yourself in that disposition, then you're able to analyze things differently, and you don't take it personal.
You just say that's the virtue of this job. A building principal, a director of Parent/ Family Engagement, a superintendent. We're in these positions because we've endured certain things. We have a type of personality that can deal with different things that come our way. And when we do not look at it from a lens of they're attacking me, no, no, no. They're attacking the situation. This situation is something that they're not happy with. Can it be improved. Probably, probably. But I'm open to the perspective and I'm not afraid to invite people that come to a meeting to have a conversation again with me later. You know, once they've gone through. And I, I'm a firm believer in the chain of command.
We wanna make sure that we don't strip a teacher of their rights or, you know, principal of the opportunity to kind of reconcile and resolve it at the lowest level. But if it does come to my desk, then I'm okay with saying, help me understand. Help me understand what you've done. Cuz chances are I've endured something similar in my life that we're gonna connect on.
And almost always, a parent or a team member walks out of the office, really grateful for the conversation. And again, living life through a lens of, how do I help support you in this moment because it is something that is causing you to pause?
Lainie Rowell: I think that empathy that you're showing and that priority of making the connection and trying to understand first, because it's really hard when you've got someone coming in hot your instincts are to get into a fight or flight mode.
And so...
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yes.
Lainie Rowell: You know, taking that deep breath and reminding yourself, this child is their whole world. This isn't about me.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yeah.
Lainie Rowell: I need to try and understand the situation and hopefully help the situation from everyone's perspective. So I think that's really good advice. I have a tendency of taking everything personal and I have to remind myself I am actually not the center of the world.
And it's not like that. I think I'm so special. It's just that that's kind of a human thing, right? As we tend to our initial responses, it's all about us. Like they're not happy. It has to be me.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Lainie, that's such a good point because we actually absolutely, we are wired to take things personally. We're human. We are wired for human connection, and if someone doesn't like us, that's compromising that wire.
And it's causing us to think like, wait a minute. Like how could you not like me? I'm really nice. Right? And so like I would never hurt anyone. So when somebody does compromise that human connection wire and it causes some triggers in our brain to say, whoa, this is not my, you know, everyday way of life.
We're usually going through when, when things are very connected. And so it does kind of shift us to have us pause and to really reflect on, you know, what's going on in this circumstance. And I'm wanted to say, I mean, I have very, very few people that I don't get along with, like very few. And if I don't get along with the person, it's usually because we don't match on that gratitude lens.
You know, they have a different outlook on life. Yeah. And, but again, I don't not like you. I don't wish hate on you ever. I just know that you've got different set of experiences that have caused you to feel that way. Yeah. It doesn't make you, you know, anything different. I'm not gonna wish harm on you, it's just we don't match. Yeah.
You know, and that kind of thing as we go through life, but, but you're absolutely right with that human connection and that desire to take things personally, always exist. My initial response is to take things personally, but in my skillset of kind of rewiring my brain, Is, okay, hold up, Zandra, remove yourself from the situation.
It's not about you. It's about this thing. Then it allows you to logically think about that thing and not be emotionally triggered to respond. And that's something that I've had to learn over life.
Lainie Rowell: Yeah, it's, it's a skill for sure. And the way you reframe it too, it's not about me. What is it about for them?
I think that's really a powerful pivot. I mean, that's, that's a game changer for sure. Oh my goodness. Okay. I know you're very busy and I'm gonna have to let you go here, but I would love it if you have a chance to give a shout out and then I'll ask you to share how can people connect with you so they can see all the bright, wonderful things that I see.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yes, absolutely. So I am on all the social media channels so on Twitter, you can find me at @ZJGalvan on Instagram, it's @ZanGalvan. Zj Galvan was taken. And then I'm on LinkedIn and on Facebook just with my Zandra Jo Galvan. My home base is Greenfield, California here with my school district, but always if someone was to message me or, you know, wanna reach out absolutely, you know, it, it takes me a, a little bit, but I will reach it back out to you and, you know, hope to support other people in the, in the wonderful work that we get to do.
Lainie Rowell: Yeah. I love that. Alright, we're gonna send, send out with a shout out. Do you have anyone you wanna give a little nod to?
Zandra Jo Galvan: Yes. Oh my God. Shout out to all the working moms out there who are living the dream, doing it simultaneously because as a leading female, it's not easy. So I just wanna give a shout out to all the moms out there that are working as professionals.
Also wanna shout out to just some really special people that I adore. And those are my sister circles. I've got some really great people, so I'm gonna shout out to. My core sister circle. That was my original, and I'm gonna shout out to Jessica Gomez, who I just love. Veronica Godinez, Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez to Lynn Colan and to Rosa Perez-Isiah, I just adore those women to my core.
I wanna shout out to my USC sisters who we are fighting this doctoral journey together. Scheduled and no denying it. We are gonna graduate on May of 2024. Shout out to my sisters Margarita Contreras, Lori Gonzalez and Sabrina Silverman. Wanna give a shout out to so many sister superintendents and brother superintendents across this great nation that I get to meet through ASA through IEI through RTM, through DA.
Through Future Ready Schools. I mean, I'm just super fortunate to be able to be part of, and again, going back to get, to be part of these because someone somewhere sees something in me that is gonna add value to their organization. So I'm just really grateful for that. And then finally, I'm gonna give a shout out to this district right here.
My family, of course. My family, my amazing family. My, the, the man who lets me do this, my husband, my beautiful children, always gonna shout them out. And my parents, you know, absolutely. My family, but the last shout out is to this school district right here who I have the just gratefulness to be able to serve as superintendent.
I'm so grateful to the children that I get to hopefully impact to the board of trustees that allows me to live this dream and to every single one of the team members on this GSD family that allows me to be me. And that in turn allows them to be who they are in living this purpose-driven life that is full of gratitude.
Those are my shoutouts.
Lainie Rowell: That was lovely. I love the sister circle. I love all the shoutouts that you gave, and it's a real joy in the way that we connect on the socials with other educators. To me, that's, profound and I wish everyone had it cuz I know that there are some who don't have that experience and I don't blame them for being a little hesitant, but I.
It's really, really nice on there. I mean, we're, we're all taking care of each other and lifting each other up and stretching each other's thinking. And so if you're not already on the socials, there's a lot of great people who have brilliant ideas and a lot of wonderful things to share and help. So, Join us.
Zandra Jo Galvan: Oh my gosh, yes. Don't be afraid. Yeah, for sure. Don't be afraid to take that first move because you do. We find, I mean, that's how we found each other, to be honest. Yeah. Like me knowing about your wonderful things that you get to do is because of that. So I would agree with you. Don't be afraid to just take that first move to say hi to someone, message somebody, or join one of these circles that we're talking.
Lainie Rowell: Thank you Zandra for being here and thank you all for listening.
Zandra Jo Galvan: All right. Thank you so much for having me.