Marie Panec Marie Panec has announced her intention to run for United States Congress, representing the 24th Congressional District, which includes most of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Panec, 55, a Moorpark College biology professor and Oak Park Unified School District board member, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the June 2010 primary election.

If Panec wins the primary, she would run against the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Thousand Oaks), who has held the spot since 1987.

Other Democrats who plan to run are Shawn Stern, Mary Pallant, Tim Allison and Marta Jorgensen, who ran unsuccessfully against Gallegly in 2008.

Panec believes the current economic crisis is related to educational policies.

“We need to foster growth in science and technology,” Panec said. “Historically, this has been the driver of our economy and generated new jobs for a changing economy. But we have to actively encourage entrepreneurship in these areas.”

At Moorpark College, Panec has served as Life Sciences Department chair and helped develop the industrial biotechnology program. She worked with colleagues to offer biotechnology workshops for secondary school science teachers to introduce the subject as a career to middle and high school students.

Panec is in her second fouryear term on the Oak Park school board. She serves on the executive board of the Ventura County School Boards Association.

“My work on the board has given me governance experience and the ability to work with others to come to consensus in areas of disagreement so that we can formulate policy and move forward,” Panec said.

Her community service includes two years in the Peace Corps teaching chemistry in a secondary school in Ghana, West Africa, and serving on the board of Community Action of Ventura County, which supports low-income, disadvantaged and at-risk individuals and families. She was her daughter’s Girl Scout co-leader and taught after-school science enrichment classes.

Panec holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego, a graduate degree from UC Davis, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Southern California.

Panec has lived in Oak Park for 23 years with her husband, Alan. The couple raised two daughters, who are both college students.