Superintendent Sonjhia Lowery is an accomplished educational leader with more than 31 years of experience serving students, families, and school communities. Appointed Superintendent of Pittsburg Unified School District in July 2026, she is committed to advancing academic excellence, educational equity, and strong partnerships with students, staff, families, and the community.

 

Throughout her career, Superintendent Lowery has served as a teacher, principal, district administrator, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and adjunct faculty member. She previously led Old Adobe Union School District as superintendent and held executive leadership roles in Stockton Unified and Elk Grove Unified School Districts, where she championed instructional excellence and educational equity.

 

Superintendent Lowery has received numerous honors for her leadership, including ACSA Region 3 Administrator of the Year and the Outstanding Leadership in Education Award from the California Association of African American School Administrators. She holds an MBA, a Master's Degree in Educational Management, and is currently completing her Doctorate in Leadership and Innovation at the University of the Pacific.

Dr. J.C. Farr, III is an educator with 26 years of experience, serving 9 years as a teacher and 17 years as an administrator at various sites. J.C. began his career in the West Contra Costa USD teaching Social Studies at Kennedy High School and LaVonya DeJean Middle School. J.C. returned to school attending the Principal’s Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley where he gained his master’s degree in Educational Leadership and his Administrative Service Credential. Upon graduating from UC-Berkeley, J.C. worked for 5 years as an Assistant Principal at Bancroft Middle School in San Leandro. Following Bancroft, J.C. moved into the Assistant Principal role at Castro Valley High School. For three years J.C. worked with approximately 1,000 students covering every aspect of their education from scheduling, Special Education services, developing 504’s, and discipline.  For one year J.C. served as an Administrative Vice-Principal at Menlo-Atherton High School, an economically and racially diverse school. The next year, J.C. promoted into the role of Principal at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, CA. Upon arriving at Tam, J.C. worked quickly to implement professional development on Courageous Conversations about Race. From J.C.’s initial work, over 1000 people in Marin County have been trained using the CCR protocol, raising racial consciousness throughout the County.

In 2022, J.C. obtained his Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington with his capstone project focused on the Success Network as a strategy to increase achievement for Black students. J.C. is inspired by the work of his students. J.C. joins Pittsburg USD in 2023 as the Executive Director of Equity, Access, and Success and looks forward to continuing the work of accelerating student achievement.