Dr. Eimear O’Brien is running for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in November 2026 against incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher, in her first run for elected office. A native of Ireland, she taught in Dublin for about a decade before moving to California around 1993, teaching at a Fresno elementary school before joining Clovis Unified in 1996 as a third-grade teacher. She rose through the district over nearly three decades, serving as a principal at Valley Oak Elementary and Clovis West High School and as an assistant superintendent, before being appointed Clovis Unified Superintendent in 2017, a post she held through the end of the 2022-23 school year.
O’Brien announced her retirement in January 2023, citing both the district’s post-pandemic stability and a desire to spend more time in Ireland caring for her elderly mother; the board president praised her “level-headed leadership” through the pandemic. During her final year as superintendent, Clovis Unified drew statewide attention over a policy requiring staff to notify parents before acknowledging a student’s stated gender identity, which brought nearly 100 speakers to a single board meeting and extensive state and national media coverage; the district later revised the policy. After about 18 months in retirement, she was appointed interim superintendent of Central Unified School District in March 2025. Her campaign for county superintendent centers on early literacy through phonics-based instruction, expanded parent engagement, and responsible integration of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
