Board Members

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Ms. Susan Goto was elected to the Placer County Board of Education in 2012, after serving for 16 years as a trustee for the Roseville City School District Board.  Prior to that, she taught in the Roseville City School District for 22 years. She is the widow of George Goto and has a daughter and a son who are products of the Roseville City School District. Likewise, her grandchildren had their K-8 education in Roseville City schools.

Ms. Goto is affiliated with the California School Boards Association (CSBA), California Retired Teachers Association, Placer County Division 67 and Alpha Delta Kappa-International Honorary Sorority for Women Educators.  She is a Sierra College Foundation Board Member and also serves on the Placer Buddhist Church Board. She is a former member of the Roseville City Grants Advisory Commission.

The California Reading Association has awarded her “The Policy Maker of the Year Award" for 2019 as an educator who has made a significant contribution to literacy in the educational system and to children throughout the state of California.

Ms. Goto volunteered for the City of Roseville as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner and served on the Transportation and Personnel Boards spanning 28 years. 

Currently, Ms. Goto is writing a book detailing her family's experience in a concentration camp in 1942-1945 as ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066.  The book will be directed toward students in grades 4-5. Ms. Goto has given numerous presentations on her experience.

Her hobbies include reading, going to the movies, fishing, gardening, traveling and most importantly, she values the time she spends with her family and friends.

​Robert J. Tomasini was elected to the Placer County Board of Education in 2006 and has served as Board President in 2009 and 2015. Prior to retiring in 2000, he spent 41 years in public education. Prior to serving as superintendent of the Roseville Joint Union High School District for 11 years, he was a high school classroom teacher, administrator and assistant superintendent. In 2000, Mr. Tomasini was elected to the Sierra Joint Community College District and served as President of the Board in 2001.

Under Mr. Tomasini’s leadership, the Roseville Joint Union High School District received state and national recognition for transforming its curriculum and assessment processes to provide all students with rigorous and relevant learning opportunities. He was also recognized by a nationally acclaimed business-education organization, Linking Education and Economic Development (LEED), for developing partnerships and for his work to develop a rigorous and relevant school to work curriculum.

He served on the Association of California Schools Administrators’ (ACSA) State Superintendency Committee and on a select committee of superintendents that met directly with the California State Superintendent of Schools and the Governor’s Secretary of Education. He made various educational presentations to the Annual Model Schools Conference, state and regional conferences of ACSA and the California School Boards Association (CSBA), as well as to the Hewlett-Packard Company.

Dr. Patterson was elected to the Placer County Board of Education in 2012 and brings more than three decades of experience creating, managing and helping others develop high-performing schools in California and across the nation.

Dr. Patterson currently serves as a founding board member of California Charter Authorizing Professionals (CCAP), a nonprofit dedicated to the improvement of charter school oversight. He also serves as an adjunct professor with the Fortune School of Education.

Dr. Patterson’s previous experience includes serving as the Director of CARSNet (Charter Authorizers Regional Support Network), Director of the Charter Schools Office for the Alameda County Office of Education, and Special Projects Director for Gateway Community Charters in Sacramento as well as the Superintendent for Athlos Academies, which operates innovative classroom-based schools in multiple states.

Dr. Patterson is the founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Rocklin Academy Family of Schools which include three high-performing Core Knowledge elementary charter schools and a college preparatory middle-high school. Prior to opening the Rocklin Academies, Dr. Patterson was the Director of Governmental Relations for the California Network of Educational Charters, the predecessor of the California Charter School Association, representing charter schools before the legislature, the State Board of Education, California Department of Education and the Governor’s Office. Dr. Patterson also previously served for ten years at the California Department of Education where he became the Department’s point person for charter schools. He has also served many years as an elected school board member in Del Paso Heights and Rocklin.

Dr. Patterson is a recognized professional in traditional and charter school law and policy, school reform and an acknowledged leader in state and national political and legislative activities. The California Charter Schools Association recognized him as the recipient of the “Hart Vision Award for Charter School Leader of the Year” in 2012 and 1998 for outstanding leadership and excellence in education.

Dr. Patterson earned a Doctorate in Education and Policy from the University of Southern California, a Masters in Higher Education Administration from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UCLA.

His wife Kathleen is a retired Rocklin High School math teacher and their three adult sons are graduates of Rocklin Unified School District Schools.

​E. Ken Tokutomi was elected to the Placer County Board of Education in 2002 and served as board president in 2006 and 2013. He is a fourth generation Placer County resident and has a Bachelor of Science accounting from California State University, Sacramento and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. He is the retired senior partner in Tokutomi & Caruthers Certified Public Accountants in Auburn, CA.

With 28 years of experience in local small business, Mr. Tokutomi supports individualized instruction and the development of business education in a “real world” work environment. 

​He is active in regional political campaigns and educational fundraisers. He is treasurer and past chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, treasurer of Feed the Hungry in Auburn, treasurer and past president of the Placer Japanese American Citizens League, treasurer of Auburn Joss House and Chinese Museum, treasurer of Friends of Vin Sonh Orphanage, treasurer of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, past president of the Forgotten Soldier Program, past member of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Placer County, and member and past president of the Auburn Kiwanis Club. Mr. Tokutomi is also a past member of the Placer High School Hall of Fame Committee and served as Chairman of the 442nd Memorial project in Roseville at the Bill Santucci Justice Center. Mr. Tokutomi also organizes and assists in the annual Salvation Army’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

A caring and active community leader, Mr. Tokutomi has been recognized by a number of groups for service in the community, the region and nationally including the following: