“Follow Your North Star”

As the second child of six it was a natural progression for Carol Hood, Class of 1969, to go to St. Francis High School after graduating from All Hallows Parish School. Throughout life Carol has led with a creativity and life-long learning spirit. Attending St. Francis High School reinforced the values her parents and family instilled in her to do what you can to care for others. Carol truly embodies her parents’ principles and the prayer of St. Francis by sowing love, hope, light and peace throughout her years of serving others.

The welcoming and non-competitive environment at St. Francis coupled with excellence in academics strongly prepared Carol to pursue higher degrees. After high school Carol attended Sacramento City College before transferring to UCLA where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and then an MBA at the University of Minnesota.

Carol’s experiences at St. Francis helped her to develop an effective approach to working with people and established a commitment to helping those in vulnerable situations. This Christian grounding has had an immense impact on her life. It was her North Star that always put her back on track when needed. Carol fondly remembers two teachers, Mrs. Mary Ravizza (English and history) and Mrs. Kaitlin Ernst (mathematics) who made an impact on her because they went beyond the curriculum and challenged her to think, learn differently and to explore different approaches. These women opened her mind to approaching things with curiosity and creativity and to keep growing. 

Throughout her career Carol has led with these abilities and spirit to overcome any challenges. Carol’s career spans multiple decades from serving in Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) as a grant writer to support non-profit agencies in North Carolina, working in Minnesota providing human services, and then ultimately serving as the deputy for community services at the State of California Department of Mental Health where she started work in 1988. After retirement she worked part-time for a few years for the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. She continues her commitment to mental health services as a board member of Mental Health America of California.

Carol was fortunate to have found a female mentor in Beverly Abbott, director of San Mateo County Mental Health Services. She learned valuable lessons in how to organize and work with people and how to be a caring, thoughtful and truly effective leader. This leadership exposure helped Carol in serving the most vulnerable of our community and that care is woven throughout Carol’s life and is seen in her proudest accomplishments. One accomplishment is the implementation of a portion of Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act, which has provided billions of increased funding for California’s public mental health services. In her role as deputy, she served as an effective leader and engaged with clients and their family members to determine the best use of the funds to serve the greatest need. The other accomplishment was as director of a child care program caring for refugees from the Vietnam War whose parents were attending school to learn English. The biggest reward in caring for others were the connections and friendships formed, some bonds that have lasted for over 40 years.

In addition to serving others Carol’s desire for life-long learning is seen in becoming proficient in playing the four-string banjo, a skill learned in retirement. She tried a lot of instruments but met a teacher at a local jazz festival that taught her for free and the rest is history. Carol is a member of the oldest banjo band on the west coast, Sacramento Banjo Band, and Girls Girls Girls the sole female-only band in the United States. Carol expressed that she wished she had been more open to not missing opportunities like this when she was in high school. So, she would share with current students to be more daring and challenge oneself to seek out opportunities and friendships that allow you to grow emotionally. And to always remember what is at the core of who you are, how you fit in this world, and what good you can do. St. Francis could instill this in you, it will be your North Star to guide your journey throughout life.