Board of Directors
Todd Gutschow, Chairman
Fair Isaac and Company, Retired
Bio
Melendy Lovett, Vice Chairman
Senior Vice President, Texas Instruments
President, Education Technology, Texas Instruments
Bio
Clarence Fields, Secretary & Treasurer
Area Sales Manager, Xerox Corporation
Bio
Mary Catherine Swanson
Founder, AVID Center
Bio
Pete Garcia
Retired President/CEO, University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors
Bio
Dave Gordon
Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools
Bio
Gene I. Maeroff
Bio
Carol E. Malloy
Professor Emerita, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bio
Lionel "Skip" Meno
Professor, College of Education, San Diego State University
Bio
Dr. Monte Moses
2005 National Superintendent of the Year
Education Consultant
Bio
Jim Nelson
Executive Director, AVID Center
Bio
Aracelia Vila
Retired Business Executive, Schering-Plough
Bio
Stephen Weber
President Emeritus, San Diego State University
Bio
Directors Emeritus
Edward S. George
President, Torrey Pines Bank, Retired
Senator Gary Hart
Founder, Institute for Education Reform, California State University
Gerald Hayward
Director, PACE, Retired
H. William Kuni
Private Investor, HWK Investments
Ann Navarra
Owner/Controller, Jerome's Furniture
Ron Ottinger
Executive Director, Noyce Foundation
Thomas A. Page
Chairman, Sempra Corporation, Retired
Drew Schlosberg
Manager of Community Relations & Public Relations, San Diego Union Tribune
Rod Tompkins
Management Consultant
Rene Townsend
Executive Director, Urban Education Dialog and Public School Services
Uri Treisman
Professor of Mathematics, Charles A. Dana Center, University of Texas, Austin
Board of Director Biographies
Todd Gutschow, Chairman
Mr. Gutschow retired from Fair Isaac & Company in February 2003. Prior to retiring, Mr. Gutschow spent 16 years with HNC Software Incorporated (acquired by Fair Isaac), a company he co-founded in 1986. While with HNC, Mr. Gutschow played a number of significant roles in the development and commercialization of the company's software and hardware products. In particular, he was instrumental in developing neural network applications in a number of industries including banking, insurance, direct marketing and retailing. Prior to starting HNC, Mr. Gutschow spent three years with TRW's Military Electronics and Avionics Division in San Diego.
Mr. Gutschow is an active supporter of children related organizations. He currently serves as a member of the Poway Unified School District's Board of Trustees. He is also a board member of the Classroom of the Future Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, AVID Center, the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and the Poway Wrestling Foundation. He is also a member of the San Diego Foundation's Scholarship Committee and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee.
Mr. Gutschow holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Harvard University. He and his wife Mari have three children. He is a part-time avocado grower and an aspiring golfer.
Melendy Lovett, Vice Chairman
Melendy Lovett is a senior vice president at Texas Instruments Inc. and president of TI's Education Technology business. In this role, Ms. Lovett channels her passion for education into developing products and services that create new tools and technologies for teachers with the goal to help students become more academically successful in learning math and science.
Among her professional achievements Ms. Lovett has made math and science learning more accessible to students around the world. She believes this is important because students who succeed in math and science gain skills that better prepare them for their lives and careers.
Ms. Lovett also founded the Women of TI Fund, a nonprofit group striving to improve math and science education for girls in middle and high schools. The fund aims to increase the number of girls ready for a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degree at the university level. Ms. Lovett volunteers as a trustee for the Rose-Hulman Technology Institute.
In addition to her leadership in Education Technology, Ms. Lovett serves as a senior vice president of TI, where she contributes to the corporation's strategic leadership team, reporting to the CEO.
Ms. Lovett's background includes information technology, consulting services, sales and marketing, product development, finance, procurement, supply chain management, manufacturing, and human resources in a variety of industries.
Ms. Lovett's honors include membership in the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame, distinguished alumna of the University of Texas at Dallas, and Dallas-Fort Worth's "Top 25 Changemakers" named by the Dallas Business Journal.
Ms. Lovett earned her master's degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas, a bachelor's degree in management from Texas A&M University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Clarence Fields, Secretary & Treasurer
Clarence began his career with Xerox Corporation in 1988 in the Salt Lake City, Utah district as a Marketing Representative. He later transferred to his hometown of San Diego, California where he is currently an Account Sales Manager responsible for managing a sales team that markets to State and Local and Educational customers in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles California. In his twenty years with Xerox, Clarence has received several honors such as numerous "President's Clubs" and "Western Region Top Performer".
Clarence was born on January 25, 1965 in San Diego, California. He earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Utah where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Family and Consumer Studies.
Clarence has been involved in many community activities such as the "Student Shadowing Program" where students spend a day with various professionals and learn about their jobs. He also participated in the "Kearney High School Mentoring Program" where it was his responsibility to coach and teach African-American students the importance of goal setting and preparing for college.
Currently Clarence is very involved in the "Advancement Via Individual Determination Program" (AVID). AVID, founded in 1980, is a college preparation program for underrepresented secondary school students. As a former graduate of the first AVID class, Clarence has first hand knowledge of how AVID can provide students with skills, resources and access to higher education. Clarence has given numerous AVID presentations to school districts and students throughout California. He is a member of the AVID Board of Directors and often assists AVID in acquiring new schools by being a spokesperson and role model for the program.
In addition to Clarence's business and civic involvement he enjoys participating in outdoor recreational activities with his wife Janine and sons Jordan, Jalen and Jayden.
Pete Garcia
Mr. Garcia was born in Cuba. At thirteen he arrived alone in the United States when his family's departure was denied by Castro. After graduating with High Honors from the University of Florida in Engineering, he began his career with Exxon.
In 1974 he moved to San Diego to design and build industrial, commercial, and residential projects throughout the United States.
Today, he consults on innovation for several companies, including Walt Disney Imagineering, and EMCOR.
He has served as Vice-Chair of the State of California Commission for Economic Development, Chairman of San Diego Economic Development Foundation, Chairman of AVID, and SDSU Engineering Board.
Additionally, he has written and produced motion pictures, is a published novelist, and his paintings are widely collected.
Dave Gordon
David W. Gordon serves as Superintendent of the Sacramento (CA) County Office of Education. The County office directly serves more than 30,000 students and provides financial oversight and support services to more than 235,000 students in thirteen school districts.
From 1995-2004 Mr. Gordon served as Superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District. Elk Grove is an ethnically and economically diverse district of 62,000 students covering 320 square miles of Sacramento County, California. Mr. Gordon was responsible for 55 schools and budgets totaling $500 million. One of the fastest growing districts in the nation, Elk Grove grew from 29,000 to 59,000 students during Mr. Gordon's tenure.
From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Gordon served as Elk Grove's Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education. Prior to coming to Elk Grove, Mr. Gordon worked for 17 years in the California State Department of Education. Mr. Gordon began his career as an elementary school teacher in 1968 in the South Bronx, New York.
Mr. Gordon holds a B.A. degree from Brandeis University and an Ed.M. and Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Educational Administration from Harvard University. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to serve (2003-2011) on the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (the "Nation's Report Card"). Mr. Gordon currently serves as Chair of NAGB's Reporting and Dissemination Committee. From 2001-2003 Mr. Gordon served on the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
He was appointed in 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence. He has served as an Associate in Education at Harvard University, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and a visiting professor at the University of California, Riverside. He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Curriculum Development Commission. He has presented at the White House, has been a panelist on the U. S. Department of Education's cable television show, has testified before the U.S. Congress and state legislatures in California and around the nation, and is a frequent speaker at major conferences.
Mr. Gordon was named 2002 Elk Grove Citizen Newsmaker and Man of the Year. In 2007 he was named the California Preschool Champion for Outstanding Educational Leadership by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. He has also been an active volunteer in the Sacramento area serving as a board member of the Jewish Foundation of Northern California, the Elk Grove Rotary Club, the YMCA and the Capital Unity Council. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sierra Health Foundation. He and his wife Deborah, a novelist, have two children and six grandchildren.
Gene I. Maeroff
Gene I. Maeroff is senior fellow at the Hechinger Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was the founding director in 1996. His latest book, in December 2010, is School Boards in America: A Flawed Exercise in Democracy, published by Palgrave Macmillan. Among his 13 earlier books are Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School; A Classroom of One: How Online Learning is Changing Our Schools and Colleges; Altered Destinies: Making Life Better for Schoolchildren in Need; and The Empowerment of Teachers: Overcoming the Crisis of Confidence. His articles have been published in such general interest magazines as New York, the New York Times Magazine, and the Nation, as well as in such education periodicals as American School Board Journal, Principal, Teacher, and the Kappan.
Before moving to Columbia University, Maeroff was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where for a decade he researched and wrote reports on education policy. Earlier, he spent 16 years at the New York Times, where he was national education correspondent. His work has been recognized with awards from such organizations as the American Association of University Professors, the Education Writers Association, and the International Reading Association.
Maeroff was elected a member of the school board in Edison, N.J., in 2008. It governs the fifth-largest district in the state and has a budget of $200 million. In 2010, he was elected president of the board, putting him in a position to lead a search for an interim superintendent and, then, for a superintendent. Maeroff moved from Manhattan to Edison in 1988.
Carol E. Malloy
Carol E. Malloy is very proud to have spent 20 years as a teacher of mathematics in several public school districts across the United States. Her first position was as a mathematics and English teacher at her high school, John Harris High, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Her education includes B. S. from West Chester University in Mathematics and Education, a M. S. from Illinois Institute of Technology in Mathematics, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in Curriculum & Instruction.
Carol has recently retired from being an Associate Professor in Mathematics Education in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she taught courses in secondary mathematics methods, geometry for middle and elementary pre-service teaching students, and the professional seminar for Ph.D. students.
Carol's major research interests are mathematics learning, the influence of culture on the cognitive development of African American students as it relates to mathematics learning, and teacher/student interactions that lead to achievement and understanding in mathematics. She and two other colleagues have just completed five years of data collection and analysis for two major studies funded by the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. This research investigated students' development as mathematical learners in reform oriented classrooms. Carol prior research included equity in mathematics education, resiliency as a key to student success in algebra, mathematical problem solving of African American students, and the capacity and successes of school reform focusing on the Comer School Development Program.
Carol has been active in the Benjamin Banneker Association since 1991, and was president of the Association from 1996-98. She elected as member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Board of Directors 1998-2002, and she was a member of the NCTM Standards 2000 writing team.
Since 1995, Carol has been an author of Glencoe/McGraw Hill mathematics textbooks. Presently she is a Lead Author for the McGraw-Hill K-12 Mathematics Program. She has numerous national publications and books and has made major presentations at local, state, regional, and national academic meetings.
Prior becoming a professor, she was the Associate Director for Programs of the University of North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network and the Director of the its pre-college program, 1990-94. The Mathematics and Science Education Network is a comprehensive, statewide program aimed at significantly upgrading mathematics and science education through teacher professional development and student pre-college programs.
Lionel "Skip" Meno
Dr. Lionel R. "Skip" Meno received his Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Rochester, and was at the forefront of educational reform in two states during his two former posts and has consulted widely throughout the nation.
From 1991-1995, Dr. Meno served as Commissioner of Education for Texas, that state's top public school position, and led the public education system while Texas established a new set of fundamental principles guiding teaching, assessment, accountability, and funding. Prior to service in Texas, Dr. Meno was Deputy Commissioner of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education for the State of New York (1988-1991) and Superintendent of Schools for the Syracuse City School District in Syracuse, New York, for nine years.
From 1999 – 2007, as Dean of the College of Education at San Diego State University, Dr. Meno led one of the state's largest and most comprehensive education preparation institutions. It is also a college of education that is engaged in improving the field of practice, as evidenced by projects such as the City Heights Educational Collaborative (where San Diego State University operates three inner-city schools under contract with San Diego Unified School District) and the Compact for Success (with Sweetwater Union High School District that facilitates district-wide education reform). Dr. Meno has also been active with his fellow CSU deans, and he is past chair of the CSU Deans of Education Committee on System-wide Evaluation.
Dr. Meno is currently Professor of Education and Special Assistant to the President for P-12 Education at San Diego State University.
Dr. Monte Moses
Monte Moses is an educational consultant and speaker. Prior to starting his private consulting firm, Dr. Moses was the Superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. Monte also served as a school administrator in Littleton, Colorado; Garland, Texas; and Casper, Wyoming, and he was a professor of education at Murray State University in Kentucky.
Dr. Moses is the author of two books, and his articles on subjects pertaining to leadership and organizational improvement have appeared in numerous journals. His recent articles have been influential in shaping the debate about NCLB and high school reform. Monte has received numerous awards including the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence, Administrator of the Year from the Association of Office Professionals, and AASA National Superintendent of the Year in 2005. He has served on numerous panels and commissions at the state, national, and international level. Some of them include the Colorado Race to the Top committee, the AVID Board of Directors, ASCD advisory board on the whole child, Colorado P-20 Council, the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, advisory boards for ACT and the College Board, and consultant to the East Asia Regional Council of Schools.
Dr. Moses comes from a family of educators. His wife, Kathy, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado. Monte's brother Mike served as Texas Commissioner of Education and Superintendent of several Texas districts, and their father Morgan was a prominent school leader in Texas for many years. They have many spirited conversations about education when they are not discussing football or golf. Monte and Kathy have a daughter, Megan, who is attending college.
Dr. Moses holds an undergraduate and Master's degree from Stephen F. Austin University, and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University where he was recognized as a Peabody Scholar. Monte is committed to the profession, and enjoys working with diverse groups to improve our system of public education. When he is not busy working on education and civic projects, he enjoys fly-fishing, skiing, and playing golf.
Aracelia Vila
Aracelia Vila was Vice President of Public Affairs, Schering-Plough, a leading global pharmaceutical company. She is a specialist in US and international public and government affairs. She has particular expertise in trade and health care issues. She also was the chief Schering-Plough liaison vis-à-vis the AIDS and Hepatitis C communities. Ms. Vila also served as an appointed advisor to the US Government trade industry-sector advisory committee.
Before joining Schering-Plough in 1992, Ms. Vila was with Warner-Lambert where she served as Director of International Government Relations.
Previously, Ms. Vila was in the Brussels office of Burson-Marsteller where she set up and directed a business intelligence and liaison service with the European Community.
Before joining the business sector, Ms. Vila was a researcher at the Center for Sociological Research of the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, and a consultant to the Assistant Secretary of Health for Family Planning of Puerto Rico. She has taught at several universities in Europe and the Caribbean including the European Program of the University of Maryland and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.
Ms. Vila currently serves in the Board of Directors of AVID, a college preparedness program offered in schools as an elective to prepare middle of the road students to qualify for four-year colleges and volunteers in various community activities.
Ms. Vila has undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees in sociology with honors from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. She speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. Ms. Vila was born in Cuba and lives in Fallbrook, California.
Stephen Weber
Stephen L. Weber, President Emeritus of San Diego State University, provided dynamic leadership to an institution that ranks among the largest in the nation. Educated as a philosopher, President Weber began his tenure at SDSU in July 1996 and shortly afterward initiated a broad-based dialogue intended to set the course for the university's future. Since then, SDSU has moved boldly ahead: reinforcing academic excellence, nurturing students, honoring diversity and social justice, carefully stewarding resources, and further developing global programs.
A champion of community involvement as well as academic excellence, Weber has been an advocate for community service. Leading by example, he is a past chair of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Board of Directors; and he co-chaired Partners for K-12 School Reform. Weber has spearheaded nationally acclaimed programs with Price Charities to create the City Heights Collaborative, a comprehensive K-12 public education program serving students in the economically low income and culturally diverse community of City Heights. SDSU has also partnered with the Sweetwater Unified High School District to provide a clear pathway and access to higher education, increasing its students' college-going rate by 120 percent over the past 10 years.
Weber served on the NCAA Board of Directors and is a former member of the NCAA Executive Committee. In addition, he served on the Presidential Oversight Committee for the Bowl Championship Series.
Weber serves on the Board of Governors of The Peres Center for Peace and served on the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC). He was also a board member of Biocom, San Diego's regional life science association. Weber was a member of the Community Advisory Council for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). He is a member of the San Diego Rotary Club, an honorary director of the Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana, and an honorary advisor to the Asia Desk of the San Diego World Trade Center.
Weber's many awards include an honorary degree from Beijing Capital Normal University and distinguished alumnus at his alma mater, Bowling Green State University. In 1997, the San Diego Mediation Center honored him with its Peacemaker Award. In 1999, Weber received the Executive Director's Award from the San Diego Education Association and the Gold Key Award from the San Diego Hospitality Association. He was recognized as a Leader of Vision by the League of Women Voters of San Diego in 2000. In 2008, Weber received the Diogenes Award from the Public Relations Society of America, recognizing his honesty and forthrightness. In 2009, Weber was honored with the American Lung Association Clear Skies Award for SDSU's cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation Service's SDSU trolley center. In 2010, the Copley Family YMCA's 28th Annual Civic Tribute honored Weber for his service, devotion, and contributions to the San Diego Mid-City community. In 2011, Weber was honored by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and presented with its 2010 Regional Unity Award for his community service and civic engagement.
Born in Boston, Weber is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a B.A. in philosophy. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1969 and is the author of numerous articles on philosophy and higher education.
Prior to his tenure at San Diego State University, Weber served as interim provost of the State University of New York (SUNY); he previously served seven years as president of the SUNY Oswego campus. Prior to that, he was vice president of academic affairs at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut, and assistant to the president of the University of Maine. While a faculty member at the University of Maine, he was recognized as the outstanding professor in humanities.
Weber is married to Susan Keim Weber, who shares his enthusiastic commitment to SDSU. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.