At the March 7 regular meeting, the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education approved the appointment of two new administrators: Julie Berggren as the Principal at Gilroy High School and Deedy Camarena as the Principal of Brownell Middle School.  Julie assumes the reins at Gilroy High School on July 1, 2024 following the retirement of current principal, Greg Kapaku, and Deedy succeeds Mike Nebesnick, at Brownell Middle School, who is also retiring.  

Julie Berggren, Principal, Gilroy High School

"I am thrilled to welcome Julie back to Gilroy High School," shared Superintendent Anisha Munshi,  "She is a lifelong learner, deeply committed to delivering exceptional educational and co-educational experiences to foster success among students and staff.  I know she will create a culture that embraces the unique strengths of her school community that promotes learning and personal growth through effective systems.”

Berggren is ecstatic to be re-joining the Mustangs.  She began her teaching career as a Physical Education teacher at Gilroy High School in 2001.  During her time at Gilroy High School, Julie was also Activities Director, Athletic Director, Link Crew Coordinator, Community Service Coordinator, Leadership Teacher, and Head Softball coach.

Julie earned her Bachelor's Degree (1999) and Multiple Subject Teaching credential (2001) from Chico State and her Master's in Education, Administration & Supervision from San Jose State University in 2015.

Throughout her career, Julie has been recognized for her leadership skills.  In 2021, she was named the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 8 Secondary Co-Administrator of the Year.  She is the recipient of the 2015 Norm Mackenzie Award, Central Coast Section Rookie AD of the Year and the CIF State Honor Coach of the Year.  

Currently, she is a member of the CIF Leadership Initiative, CCS Sportsmanship Committee, and BVAL Board of Managers.  She also is a member of the Leadership Gilroy Class of 2024.

In her spare time, Julie enjoys gardening, “glamping,” and cheering for the San Francisco Giants!  She will remain in her role as Assistant Principal at Christopher High School, a position she has held since 2016, until June 30, 2024.

Deedy Camerena, Principal, Brownell Middle School

Deedy Camarena is the newly appointed Principal at Brownell Middle School.  She served as the Assistant Principal beginning in October 2021. As the Assistant Principal at Brownell Middle School, Deedy Camarena worked closely with the principal, teachers, and other staff to assess student and staff needs. Ms. Camarena oversees instructional processes, managing student discipline, and ensuring attentiveness to the overall health, safety, and welfare of students within the school environment.  Working with students, parents, teachers, and community agencies is a passion of hers as it lends itself to opportunities for positive collaboration and communication regarding academics and culture and climate. 

Prior to being an principal, Deedy served as the Santa Clara County Office of Education Coordinator of ELD, Dual and World Languages, a district-wide ELD Summer School administrator, ELD Coach, ELD Teacher on Special Assignment, World Language high school teacher as well as an elementary school teacher.  She received extensive training in pedagogy that supports Multilingual Learners, analyzing and evaluating data to inform instruction, equitable instruction and developing systems and structures for language development.

Deedy received her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from National University, and her undergraduate in Spanish at the University of California, Irvine (Go Anteaters!). She holds a multiple subject credential with a Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language, and Academic Development authorization, and an administrative services credential.

She is passionate about supporting educators to utilize language in the classroom as a means of discourse and learning, as she is a champion for Multilingual Learners, which are a huge part of Brownell Middle School.

In her spare time, she loves to hike in the bay area, and spend time with her 3 dogs, Izzy, Kima and Ivi.