Member Council The Member Council plays a crucial role in the
Association. This body of elected officials represents
the voice of the members to the Associations Board and
staff. They facilitate an open discussion of issues and
options and strive to give consensus-based recommendations
to the Board. Their job is not an easy one but they do
it with fierce commitment and passion.
Chip
Romer
Region I
Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma
Chip Romer has served on the boards of private
and public Waldorf elementary schools for over
six years, and as the administrator of Woodland
Star Charter School in Sonoma for four years.
He was the lead developer for Woodland Star in
2000 and served on the development team of Stone
Bridge School, a Waldorf-methods charter school
in Napa. Prior to his career in education, Romer
worked as a professional writer and editor, a
business entrepreneur and a U.S. Department of
Labor economist. His BA degree is in Economics
from the University of Notre Dame.
He is married to a kindergarten teacher and has
a son in sixth grade.
Margaret
Reece
Region II
Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou,
Tehama and Trinity
Margaret Reece has served as executive director
of Chico Country Day School (CCDS) for three years.
CCDS is a preschool through seventh grade charter
school with 364 K-7 students and 60 preschoolers,
offering a broad and enriched education using
Integrated Thematic Instruction, or ITI. CCDS
emphasizes Lifeskills and Lifelong Guidelines,
leadership and character development and offers
music, art and drama, Environmental Science, and
a comprehensive afterschool program. In the last
three years, CCDS has become one of the top elementary
schools in Chico. Margaret and other charter leaders
in the Butte County area recently founded the
North State Charter School Consortium as a means
of working together to promote charter schools
and to ensure the continuity of charter schools
in the Butte County area.
Margaret received a Masters degree in Public
& Health Administration from California State
University, Chico in 2000, and a B.A. in Women’s
Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison
in 1994. Prior to joining CCDS, she worked for
a non-profit Medicare advocacy organization both
as a project manager and as a development director,
and assisted in statewide education efforts regarding
Medicare fraud and abuse.
Margaret lives in Chico with her husband and
two boys.
Dave
Patterson
Region III
Alpine, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento,
Sierra, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba
David Patterson, Ed.D
Executive Director
Rocklin Academy
Charter Schools – From Their Inception
in California
California Department of Education: I have been
involved with charter schools since 1992, from
the time the initial legislation was introduced
in Sacramento. At that time I was working for
the California Department of Education, focusing
on systematic school reform and assisting with
the implementation of SB 1274, the school restructuring
initiative. Since 1993 I served as the Department’s
staff expert on charter schools. Advised Superintendent
Eastin and the State Board on the development
of charter school policy, including fiscal, assessment,
curriculum and special education. Authored the
state’s first applications for federal charter
school funds and implemented and managed the multimillion-dollar
program. Provided direct assistance to charter
developers and charter schools and districts,
author of numerous program advisories, policy
papers and legislative proposals.
CANEC: Founded the Governmental Relations Office
for CANEC in Sacramento in January of 1999. As
director of governmental relations and a registered
lobbyist, developed and implemented CANEC’s
advocacy agenda and represented CANEC members
on charter school issues before the legislature,
the governor, the state board, the California
Department of Education and other state and federal
agencies. During 2003 also served as the interim
executive director, shepherding the organization
through a critical transition period that culminated
in the overwhelming positive vote of the membership
to create the California Charter Schools Association.
Rocklin Academy: Founder, developer and executive
director of the Rocklin Academy, a Core Knowledge
charter school that opened in August of 2001.
Beginning in 1998, lead the development of the
charter, its approval, the receipt of a planning
and implementation grant and the school’s
opening. The Academy is a K-6 classroom based
school of 310 students that emphasizes high academic
and behavioral standards, a commitment to personal
best, and full partnership with parents. The school
is the highest scoring elementary charter school
in California with an API score of 906. Serving
as the full time executive director and administrator
since July of 2003.
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE
Executive Director and Founder of the Rocklin
Academy, a K-6 Core Knowledge charter school operating
in Rocklin, California
Interim Executive Director for CANEC, the California
Network of Educational Charters, California’s
statewide charter schools organization
Director of Governmental Relations and Advocacy
for the California Network of Educational Charters
Education Program Consultant, Charter Schools
Office, California Department of Education (CDE)
Education Program Consultant, Regional Programs
and Special Projects Division, California Department
of Education
Senior Vice President, Student Loan Division,
First Independent
Manager of Outreach, Policy and Program Development,
California Student Aid Commission
Executive Director and Manager, Higher Education
Loan Program of Washington, D.C. (HELP-DC)
EDUCATION
Doctorate in Education, Administration and Policy,
University of Southern California
Master of Arts, Higher Education Administration,
George Washington University
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University
of California, Los Angeles
ELECTED OFFICES
Board of Trustees, Rocklin Unified School District,
(1996-1999)
Board of Trustees, Del Paso Heights Elementary
School District, (1987-1994).
Michael
G. Jones
Region V
San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey
Michael Jones is the principal of Alianza School.
Since its inception, Alianza has been committed
to developing bilingual/biliterate, academically
successful citizens who embrace the opportunities
that abound in our increasingly diverse society.
In 1998, Alianza became a charter school in order
to preserve the integrity of it Two Way Bilingual
Immersion Program.
For the past 6 years, Michael has been involved
with various charter school organizations. Michael
currently represents Region 6 in the Membership
Council of the California Charter Schools Association.
Michael has also served in leadership positions
for both the local chapter of the Association
of California School Administrators and the P·jaro
Valley Association of Managers.
Prior to administration, Michael served as a
bilingual classroom teacher for 6 years and as
a middle school assistant principal for 2 years.
Michael received his bachelor's degree in Latin
American Studies at the University of California,
Santa Cruz and his Masters degree in Administration
from the University of San Francisco.
Mary Vink
Region VI
Amador, Calaveras, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne
Mary Vink has been the director of New Jerusalem
Charter School and Delta Charter
High School for the past 7 years. She became involved
in the charter school movement
in 1999 and has been actively involved with the
Advisory Commission on Charter
Schools since its inception. Previously to her
founding the New Jerusalem Charter
Schools, she taught at New Jerusalem Elementary
School for 19 years.
Mrs. Vink received her Bachelor's Degree and Administrative
Credential from California
State University, Stanislaus.
During her time at New Jerusalem Elementary School
she taught a variety of different
grade levels. In addition to her teaching duties,
she was also district coordinator of the
GATE Program, yearbook advisor, and served as
the District's athletic and activities
director. Mary firmly believes in school choice
and that both of her charter programs,
which offer a personalized learning approach,
are the alternative answer to traditional
school programs for those students who are not
succeeding in a traditional classroom
environment.
Mrs. Vink is married to a walnut rancher and
has 5 daughters ranging in age from 21-13.
Linda Washington
Region VII
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare
Linda Washington is the Member Council Region
VII Representative. She also
previously served as Member Council Parent Representative
for a 2 year term.
Ms. Washington is the founder and director of
a grass roots non-profit organization called
Agape`. Agape is the parent organization to two
charter schools and one post secondary
private vocational college. The schools are W.E.B.
Dubois Public Charter School, Carter
G. Woodson Public Charter School, and Agape Career
Institute.
Ms. Washington's mission is to serve the central
valley region by bringing information, solving
critical issues in the region to expand the number
of charters in the valley, develop a strong consortium
of charter school partners along with projecting
a positive image of Central Valley charter schools.
Luci
Fowers
Region IX
Imperial, Orange and San Diego
Luci Fowers is currently executive principal
of Albert Einstein Academies and CEO of the School
Corportation that manages both Albert Einstein
Academy (K-5) and Albert Einstein Academy Middle
(6-7). She has been with the academies for the
past three years. She has been an active proponent
of charter schools' rights to aquire facilites
under Prop 39, and in 2006 Albert Einstein Academy
was the first start-up charter school to be granted
a district facility in the San Diego Unified School
District.
Principal Luci Fowers completed her Bachelor
of Science Degree at Utah State University in
Early Childhood Education in 1974 after which
she spent most of the next 20 years at home raising
a family of seven children. She returned to her
early childhood profession for a brief time from
1986-1989 as the director/manager of Rainbow’s
End, a private preschool/childcare facility which
served about 250 children ranging in age from
6 months to 10 years. In 1995 she was employed
as a language arts specialist in the Chula Vista
Elementary School District and eventually transitioned
into a full-time second grade teacher. She remained
in the classroom for the next 8 years during which
time she graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Master’s
Degree in Curriculum and Instructional Development
from San Diego State University in 2000. She simultaneously
completed her Professional Clear Teaching Certificate
through California Teacher Credentialing.
Rick
Piercy
Region X
Chair of the Member Council, Inyo, Mono, Riverside
and San Bernardino
Rick Piercy is president/CEO of the Lewis Center
for Educational Research in Apple Valley, home
to the K-12 charter school, Academy for Academic
Excellence. The Center offers various educational
programs to the community, field trips to public
and private schools, and operates the Goldstone
Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) project which
brings radio astronomy to America’s classrooms
through a MOU with NASA/JPL.
Rick has been involved in the Charter School
movement since 1997, and served on the CANEC Board
during the transition to CCSA where he is Chair
of the Board and Chair of the Membership Council.
Rick has been a K-12 teacher, vice principal
and principal. He conceived the idea of the Apple
Valley Science and Technology Center, now known
as the Lewis Center for Educational Research.
Rick graduated with honors from Southern California
College earning his Bachelors degree. He earned
a Multiple Subjects and Special Education teaching
credential and Masters Degree in Special Education
from California State University in San Bernardino,
and Tier I and II Administrative Credential from
Azusa Pacific University. Rick is the recipient
of many awards, including the Hart Vision Award
for Outstanding Charter School Administrator in
2002, the NASA Public Service Medal in 1998, and
Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the
Year in 1998.
Ana Ponce is the executive director of Camino
Nuevo Charter Academy with an enrollment of 1250
students, grades pre-K – 10 across three
campuses in the MacArthur Park/Mid-Wilshire area
of downtown Los Angeles.
Originally from Mexico, she grew up in the Pico
Union area of Los Angeles. Her first teaching
assignment through Teach for America was as a
bilingual kindergarten teacher and she has taught
grades K – 6 including multi-age settings
and 6th grade English. She has been active in
the education reform movement since 1991 and in
the charter movement since 1994. She was a founding
teacher at The Accelerated School and later the
instructional leader for the K – 8 program
at that school. She earned her first masters degree
from Teachers College at Columbia University in
Bilingual-Bicultural Education and earned a second
masters degree and her administrative Tier 1 credential
from UCLA through the Principal’s leadership
Institute (PLI).
Jacqueline
Elliot
Charter Operator. Los Angeles
Employee Member Representative
Jacqueline Elliot serves as executive director
at three charter school sites. Jacqueline and
Ref Rodriguez co-founded Partnerships to Uplift
Communities (PUC), a charter school management
organization that supports six schools she and
Ref founded over the last six years.
Jacqueline first began working with youth through
the public health field, specifically with urban
youth in the area of adolescent pregnancy prevention.
Jacqueline entered the field of public education
in 1986 as an LAUSD teacher at Pacoima Elementary
School. Horrified by the state of public education,
Jacqueline became acquainted with the charter
movement. While working at Montague Elementary
School, she helped convert it to a charter status.
Jacqueline's heart remains with the adolescent
youth and she founded her first startup charter
school in the San Fernando Valley in 1999, Community
Charter Middle School. Community Charter was the
first startup middle school LAUSD sponsored and
has experienced a great deal of success. While
completing their 5 year renewal this year, they
added ninth grade to plant the seed for their
new Early College High School. In response to
an overwhelming demand for admission at Community
Charter, Jacqueline founded Lakeview Charter Academy
this year to help alleviate the long waiting list.
Jeffrey
D. Rice
Founder and Director, A+PLUS. Nevada City
Development Group Representative
Jeffrey Rice is the founder and director of APLUS+,
the Association of Personalized Learning Services,
a growing California statewide network association
exclusively dedicated to advancing personalized
learning as a distinct public educational model,
to uniting schools and other organizations that
embrace a personalized learning approach to education,
and to promoting the successes and achievements
of personalized learning programs in public education.
Jeffrey has more than 5 years of experience as
an advocate in the California charter school movement.
He is a member of California Charter Schools Association
and CharterVoice. Jeffrey's professional life
includes more 20 years of experience in marketing
and public relations positions focusing on socially
conscious endeavors such as ridesharing, health
foods, solar energy, and public education.
Jeffrey earned a bachelor's degree in psychology
from the University of California, San Diego in
June 1978 and a Masters of Business Administration
from San Francisco State University in June 1983.
Joshua Newman has an extensive background in
educational policy, charter schools and business
management.
He started his career as an educational policy
analyst for the California Post-Secondary Education
Commission. He then joined the staff of the State
Legislature, first as an Assembly Fellow and finally
as the chief-of-staff for a standing policy committee
chaired by then-Assemblyman Sam Farr. In that
role Joshua wrote legislation affecting California’s
public education system including the landmark
AB 803 which established the state’s school
computer technology infrastructure.
After earning an MBA in 1986 at Harvard Business
School, he worked in industry for a dozen years,
first as a management consultant with the Boston
Consulting Group and then as a senior executive
in venture-backed high technology companies. He
has served as the CEO of two such companies, and
has raised over $150 million from venture capitalists,
an IPO and corporate M&T transactions.
In 2001 Joshua returned to education by first
working as a senior executive at Leapfrog Enterprises,
a $500 million global manufacturer of electronic
learning toys. He was in charge of international
joint ventures, and was responsible for completing
a $35 million Joint Venture with a leading Japanese
education company.
He then founded EdTec Inc. to provide complete
outsourced business services to charter schools
in California. EdTec combines his background in
educational policy, his desire to help reform
public education in California, and his background
in helping to start and manage small, growing
organizations. EdTec has a staff of about twenty-five
and is based in the San Francisco East Bay area.
Mr. Newman resides in Oakland, California, with
his wife and two daughters.
Jennifer Selden
Parent/Student/Board Representative
Jennifer Selden is a parent at Alianza Charter
School in Watsonville and has served as
treasurer on its Site Council for over 4 years.
She is currently a member of the Alianza
Strategic Plan Committee and is the advisor for
the school’s new Cheerleading Club, but
her commitment to the school is best summed up
by the 64 miles she clocks getting her
girls to school and back each day.
Jennifer has been married for 17 years and has
two daughters aged 11 and 8 1/2 (the 1/2
is important!). In her spare time she is the Producer
of the Los Gatos Shakespeare
Festival and serves on the Board of Directors
for Festival Theatre Ensemble.