December 2025 Employee of the Month

We honor Dr. Heather Gomez, Executive Leadership Coach in Accountability, Compliance & Grants, as the Employee of the Month for December 2025.

Heather is a leader at FCSS who regularly exceeds the call of duty. Whenever she is asked to start a new project, she is excited and willing. A strength of hers is seeing the vision of what something could be and helping create the steps to get that vision to fruition.

From supporting districts as they work to improve outcomes for their students to the development of the program monitoring of our FCSS Strategic Plan, Heather’s desire to serve is changing lives. Though she does not directly work with Fresno County students, she knows that we have a great impact on their lives through the adults she works with daily. Heather has served as an Improvement Coach in more than half of the districts in Fresno County over her five years with FCSS. In that role, she has positively impacted the lives of thousands of students who need our support and attention.

This includes students in the foster care system, students experiencing homelessness, newcomers, students living with a disability and students impacted by natural disasters. Through her support, districts and schools are being creative to improve outcomes. One current example is a school district she is supporting is working to design structured play activities during recess to decrease suspension rates of their fifth and sixth grade boys. They have seen a significant decrease in the amount of office referrals since the testing of this program began.

The FCSS Strategic Plan calls out values that absolutely define Heather. She prioritizes the needs of students in her decision-making, believes deeply in providing equitable opportunities for all students, giving students what they need to thrive. Heather embraces improvement.  

Heather, you are an asset to FCSS and a leader who others want to follow. Congratulations!