Malika Starr,
Ed.D., Chief Program Officer
Malika has over 15 years of experience facilitating organizational
learning, building teams and developing executive leaders. She
earned an M.S. in Social Work from Barry University, Miami,
Florida and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Adult Learning
from Florida Atlantic University. Over the last 10 years, Malika
has focused her skills and experience in the education reform
sector. More recently, Malika served as the Organizational Development
Program Manager for the Stupski Foundation, providing strategy
and leadership development, performance management and executive
leadership coaching to urban school district leaders in implementing
systemic reforms. She also led Stupski's internal effort to
assess its organizational learning and staff capacity building
needs. In her free time, you can find Malika golfing, hiking
or flying stunt kites at the beach.
"Changes in attitudes, changes in latitudes, nothing remains
quite the same." Jimmy Buffett
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & SUPPORT TEAM
Jesse Hinueber,
Director of Learning & Knowledge Capture
Jesse started his teaching career as a Teach For America corps
member in San Jose where he taught sixth grade. Jesse has also
worked as a marketing assistant at the Hopkins Center for the
Performing Arts and was a climate and policy intern at the Environmental
and Energy Study Institute in Washington, DC. Since coming to
PartnersSI, Jesse has supported schools, their leaders, grade-level
teams and individual teachers in San Jose and Oakland Unified
School Districts to innovate in order to meet the needs of their
students. He has a B.A. in environmental studies from Dartmouth
College and received his multiple subject teaching credential
from San Jose State University. Outside of work, Jesse can be
found playing soccer or in the kitchen experimenting with a
new recipe.
"Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
Jaime
Kidd, Director of Professional Development &
Network Design
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree
in psychology, Jaime moved to the Bay Area to serve as a PartnersSI
AmeriCorps partner. While supporting improvement initiatives
at schools in Redwood City and San Francisco, Jaime became deeply
committed to learning more about school change and issues of
inequity in schools. At the end of her term of service, she
entered a doctoral program in educational psychology at the
University of California, Berkeley, where her graduate work
focused on early reading instruction, especially as it relates
to teacher development and learning. In 2006, Jaime rejoined
PartnersSI as a School Innovation Partner and spent two years
working to build collaborative teacher teams. Jaime transitioned
into her current role on the Program Development & Support
team in 2008 and now designs and leads our internal professional
development program as well as our external professional development
networks. Jaime's interests include all things food and wine,
reading, tennis and, as of late, running.
"There are those that look at things the way they are, and
ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?"
Robert F. Kennedy
Megan
Mellone, Ed.D., Director of Middle School Development
Megan began her career in education as a middle school teacher
for eight years, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. Working
with underserved populations, Megan became passionate about
issues of educational equity, and returned to school to gain
her administrative services credential and doctoral degree in
educational leadership. Her research focused on educational
change theory, and studied the role that teacher quality plays
in student academic achievement. She next served as an assistant
principal in Oakland where she transformed a failing elementary
school into a thriving small school. Following that, Megan managed
a statewide program that provided support and training to all
of California's after school programs. Megan started her career
at PartnersSI as a School Innovation Partner on the San Jose
Unified School District team. She earned her B.A. in history
from the University of California at Davis, her master's degree
in education from Stanford University and her doctoral degree
from Mills College. Megan's interests include Aikido, artwork
and finding fun things to explore with her son.
"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe
we should teach the way they learn." Ignacio Estrada
SAN
FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TEAM
Marie
Huxley, Senior District Partnership Director
Prior to joining PartnersSI, Marie was Director of Secondary
Instructional Support in the Vallejo City Unified School District
where she established several district-wide reform initiatives.
She began her career in education as a high school social studies,
Spanish and ESL teacher and later took on the roles of high
school assistant principal and co-principal. Working in diverse
districts (Los Angeles Unified School District, Tamalpais Union
High School District and Vallejo City Unified School District)
and coaching for the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (Springboard
Schools) gave her a comprehensive and balanced approach to systemic
school and district improvement. Marie received a B.A. in political
science with an emphasis on international relations from UCSB;
she also holds a master's degree in education from UCLA and
master's degree in educational administration from San Francisco
State University. In her spare time, Marie enjoys an active
lifestyle, particularly running, playing tennis or doing yoga.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that
ever has." Margaret Mead
Tiara
Grayson, School Innovation Partner
Tiara began her teaching career as a Teach For America corps
member in San Jose, where she taught fourth grade for two years
at Cureton Elementary in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School
District. In her classroom, Tiara implemented innovative workshop
structures to differentiate instruction for her students. She
also worked on Teach For America's Bay Area staff, organizing
program events for incoming corps members and leading professional
development for fourth and fifth grade teachers. Most recently,
she was the Manager of Instruction at Revolution Prep, where
she trained and mentored over seventy instructors. Tiara attended
the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her
B.A. in peace and conflict studies. Tiara enjoys cooking, traveling,
hiking and checking out new Bay Area neighborhoods and restaurants.
"If we are to teach real peace in this world,
we shall have to begin with the children." Mohandas Gandhi
Ingrid
Siss, School Innovation Partner
Ingrid received her B.A. in French from the University of California,
Berkeley and her multiple subject teaching credential from San
Jose State University. Prior to joining PartnersSI, Ingrid served
as a corps member with Teach For America in San Jose. For three
years she taught kindergarten at Cureton Elementary School in
Alum Rock Union School District. As a corps member, Ingrid defined
expectations for Teach For America kindergarten teachers, leading
professional development and creating a comprehensive tool kit
for all Bay Area kindergarten corps members. During the summer
of 2006, Ingrid worked as a teacher coach in Los Angeles preparing
and training beginning teachers for the upcoming school year.
Ingrid's interests include playing soccer, speaking French and
walking her dog.
"Achievement is largely the product of steadily
raising one's level of aspiration and expectation." Jack Nicklaus
Sarah
Skinner, School Innovation Partner
Sarah began her work for educational equity in 2005, when she
joined Teach For America as a corps member at DJ Meyer Elementary
in San Jose. In her final year of teaching, each of Sarah's
twenty students, mostly English Learners, grew 2-3 years in
reading and the class averaged 98% mastery of the 1st grade
math standards. In 2006, Sarah trained new teachers at the TFA
Los Angeles Summer Institute. Sarah's high expectations, as
well as her passion for teaching second language learners and
early childhood literacy, drive her work towards creating equitable
educational opportunities for all students. Sarah attended Princeton
University where she received a B.A. in history, Spanish Language
and Latin American studies. In her free time, Sarah enjoys playing
outside - running, hiking and skiing.
"Once social change begins it cannot be reversed.
You cannot un-educate the person that has learned to read. You
cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress
the people who are not afraid anymore." Cesar Chavez
Gretchen
Stewart, School Innovation Partner
Gretchen began her work for educational equity in 2002, when
she joined Teach For America as a corps member at Ryan Elementary
School in San Jose. In the years following, Gretchen continued
working to close the achievement gap, teaching second, third
and fourth grade at elementary schools in San Francisco and
Oakland. Gretchen received her B.A. in international relations
from Connecticut College and her multiple subject teaching credential
from San Jose State University. Gretchen enjoys traveling to
places near and far, from picturesque destinations in the Bay
Area to quiet spots off the beaten trail in Southeast Asia.
"Literacy is not a luxury; it is a right and
a responsibility." President Bill Clinton
ALUM ROCK UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
TEAM
Sonya Lopes,
Senior District Partnership Director
Sonya returns to Partners in School Innovation as Senior District
Partnership Director, having launched her career in education
at PartnersSI in 1995 as a School Partnership Coordinator. Over
the past 15 years, Sonya has sharpened her experience in the
education reform sector, primarily coaching district and school
leaders in the areas of strategy, execution, operations, leadership
development and high-performance team building. Most recently,
Sonya worked as Senior Associate at Performance Fact, Inc.,
an organization that builds the capacity of education leaders
to take courageous and accountable action through a system of
solutions for building stronger schools and accelerating learning
for all students. Additionally, Sonya served as a Program Manager
and Director of District Alliance Programs at the Stupski Foundation
for 8 years, leading a team of education reform professionals
who worked in close partnership with urban districts across
the country. Prior to her work in public education, Sonya spent
10 years as a Captain and Special Agent in the United States
Air Force in various fields including criminal and counterintelligence
investigations, systems engineering, contract management and
organizational development. Sonya earned her B.S. in electrical
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
her M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. When she's not at work,
you can find her on a soccer field, basketball court or shuttling
adolescent boys in her car, a.k.a. "mom taxi."
"Can you imagine what I would do if I could
do all I can?" Sun Tzu
Shehz
Ali, School Innovation Partner
Shehz joined PartnersSI excited to continue his work in raising
standards in schools and working with traditionally underserved
students. Shehz began his career teaching in alternative, traditional,
elementary and high schools in Canada for nine years where he
also developed curriculum and related training for schools.
He moved to the United States and began conducting quality reviews
in schools and working with school leaders on school improvement.
Through his various experiences, Shehz brings knowledge of program
evaluation, leadership development and a passion for creating
change to his role as School Innovation Partner. Shehz earned
his B.A. in history from University of Ottawa, his B.Ed. from
Brock University and M.Ed. from the University of Ottawa. In
his spare time Shehz can be found entertaining his two young
girls, biking, hiking or playing the drums.
"Education is what remains when all you have
learned is forgotten." Albert Einstein
Viviana
Cabrales, School Innovation Partner
Prior to joining PartnersSI, Viviana taught at Christopher Elementary
(a former PartnersSI school) within Oak Grove School District.
As a grade-level leader, Viviana worked with PartnersSI to implement
the ROCI approach within her classroom. She brings knowledge
of what effective teacher leadership and grade-level teams look
and sound like within a school and knows firsthand the importance
of building capacity amongst teachers and staff as a way of
sustaining and continuing positive change. She believes in high
quality, standards-based balanced literacy as a means of transforming
schools into equitable educational places for children. Viviana
received her B.A. in sociology and education from the University
of California, Los Angeles. She also received her M.A. in education
and multiple subject teaching credential from the University
of California, Berkeley. Outside of work, Viviana enjoys spending
time with her husband Victor and their pups.
"It is necessary; therefore, it is possible."
G.A. Borghese
Meaghen
Spencer, School Innovation Partner
Meaghen began her teaching career as a Teach For America corps
member in Alum Rock School District in San Jose. During that
time, she served on her school's leadership team as well as
the district technology team. Meaghen helped develop and implement
a peer coaching program at her school that encouraged teachers
to observe and provide feedback to one another. Most recently,
she taught fourth grade in the Houston Independent School District
where her students made significant gains in writing. Meaghen
received her B.S. from Northwestern University and her M.A.
in education policy, organization and leadership from Stanford
University. Outside of work, you can find Meaghen in her kitchen
trying out new recipes with one kid in a high chair and the
other elbow-deep in flour.
"The single greatest effect on student achievement
is not race; it is not poverty it is the effectiveness of
the teacher." Harry K. Wong
STRATEGIC SERVICES TEAM
Bela Bhasin,
School Innovation Partner
With 19 years of teaching experience, Bela brings depth of knowledge,
leadership and passion to her role as Strategic Services Partner.
She has presented workshops on teaching English Learners at
the California Association for Bilingual Educators and facilitated
teacher discussions on issues in multicultural education. Since
coming to PartnersSI in 2006, Bela has worked with teachers
and leaders to accelerate student achievement in San Francisco
and Oakland Unified School Districts. Her work has included
coaching school leaders on strategic decision-making, coaching
teachers to improve learning through standards-based instruction
and ensuring successful implementation of PartnersSI's English
Learner Initiative. Bela is steadfast in her belief that education
is the single most important civil rights issue of our time
and educational equity is the key to a more equitable and just
world. Bela received a B.A. from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai,
India and an M.S. in early childhood education from Wheelock
College. On weekends, you're likely to find Bela being one with
the rock or a trail, in relaxing yoga poses or watching movies.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things
that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.
Emily
Schriber, School Innovation Partner
Emily became passionate about working for educational equity
during her time as a Teach For America corps member. She taught
third and fourth grade at Ben Painter Elementary in San Jose.
In this time, her students made significant academic gains in
language arts and math. At Painter, Emily worked as grade-level
chair, leading her grade level to strategically use data and
create standards-based assessments to guide their teaching.
She received her B.A. from the University of New Mexico, where
she led two campus organizations working for social justice.
Emily's interests include hiking, reading and playing with clay.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Eric Barela,
Ph.D., Chief Organizational Performance Officer
Eric most recently worked in the Research and Planning Division
of the Los Angeles Unified School District where he collaborated
with the District's Principal Leadership Academy to construct
a research-based curriculum designed to support new principals,
assist with its implementation and provide formative feedback
to the Academy's facilitators. During his seven-year tenure
at LAUSD, Eric conducted a wide range of research and evaluation
work, including studying best practices in both Title I elementary
schools making Adequate Yearly Progress and in schools narrowing
the achievement gap for their Latino students. He also served
as an evaluation consultant for the Oakland Unified School District
and for the Stupski Foundation. In addition, Eric was an adjunct
professor at California State University, Los Angeles where
he prepared teachers and administrators to use research as a
driver for improving student achievement. Eric earned an M.A.
in Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and
a Ph.D. in Social Research Methodology from the University of
California, Los Angeles. As a child, Eric enjoyed devouring
the encyclopedia cover to cover, which paid off as an adult
when he applied his encyclopedic knowledge to become a 3-day
Jeopardy! champion.
"Education is not the answer to the question. Education
is the means to the answer to all questions." William Allin
Ryan J. Louie,
Data Analyst
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2009, Ryan worked as an intern
at Agilent Technologies in their Software and Informatics Division.
As a member of the Channel Management team, he created a dashboard
to monitor partner performance and provide management with critical
information to make better informed decisions. Ryan is excited
to use his knowledge of databases and performance management
systems to aid PartnersSI in achieving its goals. He received
his B.A. in history with a minor in Italian from UCLA. Ryan
is a sports enthusiast, whether it's watching sports on TV,
going to games or playing recreationally.
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in
moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times
of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Alejandra
Villalobos, Performance Manager
As a Performance Manager, Alejandra helps PartnersSI drive
greater social impact through performance measurement and data-driven
strategy. She believes in openly talking about impact and effectiveness,
about how to get there and how to understand progress. Before
joining PartnersSI, Alejandra worked for Net Impact, an international
nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire, educate and
equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more
socially and environmentally sustainable world. She developed
Net Impact's 2009-2012 Strategic Plan and managed projects for
leading organizations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation
and the United Nations Global Compact. Alejandra has also consulted
with a firm in Mexico City dedicated to fostering the economic
competitiveness, social cohesion and development of communities.
Originally from Mexico, Alejandra received her B.A. in international
affairs and M.A. in International Educational Administration
and Policy Analysis from Stanford University. In her spare time,
she can be found volunteering with local organizations, cooking
a recipe she saw on the Food Network, practicing yoga or exploring
the San Francisco art scene.
"The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand,
as in what direction we are moving - we must sail sometimes
with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, not
drift, nor lie at anchor." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
