Bio
Vickie Knight Butcher has a strong track record of leadership in international, national, state levels including numerous government positions as well as service in business, educational and nonprofit organizations.
As a 27-year resident of El Cajon, Vickie understands the needs of voters in our community. She and her husband, Dr. Richard O. Butcher, have raised five children in the 52nd Congressional district. A teacher with a law degree, Vickie has gained international recognition for her humanitarian achievements and won many awards for her dedicated civic service. She has the educational background, experience, consensus-building skills and vision to provide dynamic leadership for the people in our community and our nation.
GOVERNMENT SERVICE:
City & County Government
Chair, El Cajon Planning Commission (12 year member)
Executive Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Task Force, San Diego
Appointed member, County of San Diego Human Relations Commission
African American Community Dialogue Support Group
Member, Children and Families First
City of El Cajon General Plan and Residential Zones Committee
Consultant, San Diego County Department of Health Services
Legal assistant, Honorable Presiding Judge Elizabeth Riggs, El Cajon Municipal Superior Court
Assistant and governmental liaison to Chairman, San Diego County Board of Supervisors
State of California
California 9th Regional Water Quality Control Board
California State Advisory Board on Drug Programs
National/Federal Government
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Molecular & Clinical Genetic Devices Panel
Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Consumer Representative
FDA Consumer Consortium
International
United Nations guest panelist, Roundtable on the Art of Making Peace, Geneva, Switzerland, 1999
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LEADERSHIP:
Executive Director, Water for Children Africa
As founding member and chair of the organizing committee, since 1993 Vickie has organized projects and led teams to 15 nations, bringing clean, safe water systems and medical supplies to children in rural African villages. The water project includes repairing existing water projects, drilling wells, buying water tanks, hospital equipment, school supplies, paying tuition for students, building rooms and providing over 1,000 medical kits to AIDS-infected mothers to keep their babies safe. Under Vickie’s leadership, Water for Children Africa has also hosted 11 Africa Trade and Business Conferences and dispatched trade missions to several countries.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP:
National President, National Medical Association Auxiliary
National Chairman, National Medical Association Auxiliary Board of Directors
President, Golden State Medical Society Auxiliary
President, San Diego County Medical Society Alliance
Co-founder, Women of Color Breast Cancer Support Group
Member, Grossmont Hospital Foundation Board
FDA Consumer Consortium
OTHER CIVIC LEADERSHIP:
World Affairs Council President, 2002-2004
President, El Cajon Breakfast Rotary, 2003-2004
YMCA Executive Board, 1998-2000
National Coalition of 100 Black Women
Candidate, El Cajon City Council 2000 and 2002 (endorsed by San Diego Union-Tribune)
Board of Directors, San Diego Historical Society
The Bishop’s School, Board of Trustees, 1988-1994
Lead San Diego, Inc. Class of 1986
American Field Service Exchange Student Program
AWARDS:
NAACP Harriet Tubman Humanitarian Award, 2007
March of Dimes 2001 Mother of the Year
Medaille d’ Excellence, Fete D’Excellence, Geneva, Switzerland, 1999
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Commendable Service Award for Community, Leadership, 1998
La Mesa Sunrise Rotary, Recognition International Services Director, 1999
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Honored Member
EDUCATION:
Juris Doctorate degree, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 1982
Law Review recognition and member, Legal Honorary Society
Bachelor of Arts degree, California State University, Los Angeles, 1963
Major: Special Education, Deaf and hard of hearing
Emphasis: Political science, government, communication and debate
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Grossmont Community College, Political Science Department
Grossmont Union High School District
San Diego City College, Business Department
California School for the Deaf
BUSINESS AND LEGAL EXPERIENCE:
Organizer - 11 international trade and business conferences as Executive Director of Water for Children Africa
Owner - It Is Written community bookstore, El Cajon
Registered representative - Equitable Life Insurance Company, 1992-1994
Legal assistant - honorable Presiding Judge Elizabeth Riggs
El Cajon Municipal Court Defenders, Inc. and private law firms 1984-1987
SPEAKING EXPERIENCE:
California Delegation for the Thematic Area of Sustainable Development, National Summit on Africa, Washington, D.C., 2000
Guest Panelist, United Nations, Roundtable on the Art of Making Peace, Geneva, Switzerland, 1999
Moderator, Planning Commissioners Institute Workshop, “Building Teams to Deal with Difficult Issues,” Monterey 2000
Keynote speaker, World Affairs Council, Rotary, Soroptimist, and other service organizations
Keynote speaker, Bethel Baptist Church Missionary Society, Faith Promises Breakfast
World Affairs Council, Kwanzaa, An African American Celebration
Facilitator, water-related fact-finding trips and conferences in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Gabon, Senegal, Ghana, the Ghambia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa.
CHURCH AFFILIATION:
Member, Bethel A.M.E. Church
FAMILY:
Vickie Butcher is married to Richard O. Butcher, M.D., past president of the San Diego Medical Society. They have five children and three grandchildren. Their son, Richard, is chief of staff for Congresswoman Diane Watson in Washington, D.C.
