Theodore R. Mitchell, President | Ruth Bloom, Vice President
Alan Bersin | Yvonne Chan |
Gregory W. Jones | Johnathan Williams
David Lopez | James D. Aschwanden | Jorge Lopez | Rae Belisle
Sophia Angelis, Student Member
Mr. Theodore R. Mitchell
State Board President
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319- 0827
Took Office: March 20, 2007
Term Expires: January 15, 2010
Ted Mitchell is President and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, a venture philanthropy firm focused on transforming public education for underserved children.
Prior to joining NewSchools, Mitchell served as president of Occidental College. He also served as deputy to the president at Stanford and Dean of the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Mitchell is a national leader in the effort to provide high-quality education for all students and has long been active in California and Los Angeles educational reform initiatives. He currently chairs the Governor’s Committee on Educational Excellence, charged with making recommendations to improve California’s system of K-12 finance and governance.
Mitchell received his BA in History and Economics, his MA in History, and his Ph.D. in the History of American Education all from Stanford. Mitchell also served as a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees from 1985-1990.
Mitchell is married to Christine Beckman, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Strategy at the Paul Merage School of Business at UCI. They have two children, Caroline (7) and Theo (5).
Ms. Ruth Bloom
State Board Vice President
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: February 12, 2007
Term Expires: January 15, 2011
Ruth Bloom, MA, has been a public school teacher, arts educator, and arts advocate for over 30 years. She is a collector, a former gallerist, and has helped develop major collections for many corporations and private collectors. She has developed and taught courses on contemporary art history at the college level and has been a parenting specialist. Her lifelong concerns have been in education and the arts. She is currently a member of the board of trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Los Angeles; chair and founder of the Photography Acquisition Committee; and Teach for America. She is also an advisory board member of the CineVegas Film Festival and the Boise Art Museum.
Mr. Alan Bersin
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: February 22, 2006
Term Expires: January 15, 2010
Alan Bersin was appointed California’s Secretary of Education on July 1, 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and served as Secretary until January, 2007. Immediately prior to his appointment by the Governor, he was Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools. Prior to becoming superintendent, Mr. Bersin served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California for nearly five years. As such, he was the chief federal law enforcement officer in San Diego and Imperial counties, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Bersin also served as the Attorney General’s Southwest Border Representative, responsible for coordinating federal law enforcement activities on the U. S./Mexico border. In January, 2007, Mr. Bersin was appointed by the Mayor of San Diego as Board Chairman for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, where he continues to serve.
Before entering public service in 1993, Mr. Bersin was a senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson where he specialized in complex RICO, securities, commercial and insurance litigation before state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is a member of the California and Alaska bars.
Other professional experience includes employment as Special Counsel to the Los Angeles Police Commission, as visiting professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law, as a lecturer in law at University of California at Boalt Hall, and as an adjunct professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. He serves as a Member of the Board of Overseers for Harvard University.
Mr. Bersin received his A.B. in government from Harvard University (magna cum laude). He attended Balliol College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He received his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School. Mr. Bersin was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws (Honorary) by the University of San Diego, by California Western School of Law and by the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
Ms. Yvonne Chan
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: April 15, 2005
Term Expires: January 15, 2012
Dr. Yvonne Chan is the principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles which serves 1,900 pre-school through 10th grade students living in poverty. As one of the most successful urban public schools and conversion charter schools in the nation, Vaughn serves as a model which has solved many public education challenges. Vaughn was named a 1995 California Distinguished School and a 1996 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition to being a school principal, Dr. Chan is also an adjunct professor at UCLA. She is a commissioner of the Los Angeles City Commission for Children Youth and Families. Dr. Chan also serves on the Board of Public/Private Venture in Philadelphia , the California State University Advisory Board, and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. Her degrees include a B.A. in foreign languages from UCLA, a M.A. in special education from California State University, Northridge, a doctorate in education from UCLA, and post-doctoral in computer science.
Gregory W. Jones
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office:
March 12, 2008
Term Expires: January 15, 2012
Gregory Jones is retired, and was the Senior Vice President and member of the Chairman’s Council for State Farm Mutual Insurance Companies and past President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm General Insurance Company.
Mr. Jones started his State Farm career in 1968 in the companies’ Ohio Regional Office. Following a number of promotions in all facets of the insurance business, he was named division manager in the Pennsylvania Region in 1983, executive assistant in the President’s Office in 1985, deputy regional vice president in the Northern California Region in 1988, and regional vice president in the South Coast Region in 1993. He became President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm General Company in 1998 and was appointed Senior Vice President to State Farm Mutual Companies in 2001.
Mr. Jones currently serves on the Board of Directors for State Farm General Insurance Company, the California Chamber of Commerce, Operation Hope, and Coalition for Access to Education Resources. He is chairman of the board of the California Business Roundtable and the California Business for Education Excellence Foundation, as well as, past chairman of the Junior Achievement of Southern California and the Los Angeles Urban League. In 2008, he was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the State Board of Education. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Franklin University and the National Urban League. He received the Empowerment Achievement Award in 1995, Dollars and Sense Magazine’s Corporate Trailblazer Award in 1997, and the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference Award in 1999. Mr. Jones was the 1999 honoree of the Watt’s Health Foundation and was the 2000 honoree of the Insurance Industry Charitable Fund. In 2003, he was chosen as the National Honorary member to the Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity. In 2006, he was named Executive of the Year by the Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree from Franklin University and master degree from Hood College and attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Franklin University.
Mr. Johnathan Xavier Williams
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, California 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: March 12, 2007
Term Expires: January 15, 2011
Johnathan Williams is Founder and Co-Director of The Accelerated School (TAS), a model public/private partnership charter school organization in South Central Los Angeles, where he has dramatically begun to change the academic achievement of the students and the surrounding community. The school was named TIME Magazine’s “Elementary School of Year” in 2001 for “having found the most promising approaches to the most pressing challenges in education.” The Accelerated School serves 1,200 Latino and African American students, pre-Kindergarten through high school, and has a waiting list of over 4,500 children.
The Accelerated School network has grown to include 3 charter schools and a preschool. The network includes: The Accelerated School (K-8); the dual language Accelerated Charter Elementary School (K-5); and the Wallis Annenberg High School (formerly Accelerated Charter High School).
In developing effective management of the Schools, Johnathan assembled a strong Board of Trustees and Advisors from the corporate, education and non-profit sectors. With his leadership, The Accelerated School, in partnership with the business sector, the Los Angeles Unified School District and California State University Los Angeles(LAUSD), has secured more than $50 million from public and private sources in order to construct a comprehensive pre-K-12th grade school complex and community service facility.
Johnathan’s leadership and commitment to improving public education have earned him election to the boards of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). In 2004, he was appointed to the California State Board of Education by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Johnathan earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He and his daughter live in Los Angeles.
Other Board/Commission Service includes:
- Education Sector, Treasurer
- City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission
- Joint Presidents’ Commission on LAUSD Governance
- California Science Center School Advisory Board
- Multiple Measures for Assessing Charter Schools (USC)
- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Education Leaders Council
Dr. David P. Lopez
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-0827
Took Office: July 11, 2006
Term Expires: January 15, 2010
Dr. David P. Lopez assumed the post of President of The National Hispanic University in September, 2003. The NHU was established over twenty years ago to provide accessible and affordable quality education for Hispanics and other economically marginalized, underserved, and underutilized students.
Dr. Lopez is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, where he majored in Elementary Education. He earned an M.A. in Educational Administration from New Mexico Highlands University and a Doctorate in Education from New Mexico State University with a concentration on Curriculum and Instruction.
Concurrent with teaching at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and later at California State University, Fresno, Dr. Lopez served as a consultant in the private sector helping to establish collaborative relationships between the corporate and education communities.
His recent awards and affiliations include Affiliate Member, National Council of La Raza; Member of the Board of Directors, United Way of Silicon Valley; 2004 American Diabetes Father’s Day Council/Father of the Year Award; 2004 New Mexico State University Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Education; and 2005 Hispanic Net Educator of the Year Award.
Mr. James D. Aschwanden
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: October 31, 2006
Term Expires: January 15, 2012
Jim Aschwanden has served as the Executive Director of the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association since 1993. Prior to that, he taught at the high school level for 17 years, predominately in the areas of Agricultural Science and Agricultural Economics.
A native of the Central Valley, he graduated from Fresno State University in 1975 with a B.S. in Agricultural Business Management, and later received a Masters in Education from the University of California, Davis. During his teaching tenure, he served on the Steering Committee for the State Agricultural Education Curriculum Project, was the primary author of the Agribusiness Management Cluster Course Project, and in 1991 was selected as the National Agri-Science Teacher of the Year by the National FFA Organization.
He has also served on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, the California State Plan for Vocational and Technical Education Advisory Committee, the Community College Chancellor’s Office Agricultural Education Advisory Committee, and has served two terms as a member of his local High School Governing Board. He currently serves on advisory councils for Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo and Chico State University.
In addition, he has served as Vice-Chair of the Vocational Alliance, a consortium of educational organizations supporting Career and Technical Education, for the past several years. In September 2006, he was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He and his wife Cathy, a first grade teacher, reside in rural South Sacramento County. Their son Danny, 24, is employed as a teacher at Petaluma High School and daughter Karin, 20, is a student at Chico State University.
Jorge Lopez
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: (TBA)
Term Expires: (TBA)
Jorge Lopez, of Moraga, has served as the executive director for Oakland Charter Academy. Prior to that, Lopez was the program director for Sacramento Youth Project/MAAP2004 and held the same position with Migrant Education Region XXVI (Area III) in 2003. He worked at Dolores Huerta Learning Academy where he served as the principal from 2000 to 2001 and teacher from 1999 to 2000. Lopez was a teacher for the Migrant Education Program/Gridley Unified School District in 1999 and worked for the Butte County Office of Education in 1998. Heworked asa tutor for the Avid Tutoring Program in Sacramento area high schools in 1995. He is a member of the Oakland Charter School Consortium and serves as an advisory board member for Latino Families for School Reform. Lopez is also a member of the Friends of American Indian Education Board of Directors.
Rae Belisle
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: March 11, 2009
Term Expires: January 15, 2013
Rae Belisle is the President and CEO of EdVoice, a statewide advocacy network dedicated to the improvement of student achievement in California public schools.
Prior to EdVoice, Belisle was the General Counsel for the Sacramento County Office of Education. She has served as Executive Director of the California State Board of Education; Associate General Counsel and Government Relations Team Leader for the Los Angeles Unified School District; Chief Counsel to California’s State Board of Education, and Senior Consultant to the California State Assembly Committee on Higher Education. Prior to joining state service with the Legislative Counsel Bureau, Belisle practiced law for several years with a local law firm specializing in business litigation.
As the first Chief Counsel to the State Board of Education, Ms. Belisle defended the constitutionality of charter schools, the validity of the STAR testing program and most recently the settlement of the Williams litigation.
Belisle has served as California’s representative to the national rulemaking panel that developed the federal regulations for assessment and accountability provisions of NCLB. She chaired the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools from January 2005 to December 2008. She also is a member of the California State University Early Assessment Program Advisory Committee and the New Leaders for New Schools Bay Area Advisory Board.
Belisle earned a Juris Doctor from McGeorge School of Law, graduating with distinction, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Davis.
Belisle is married to Larry Belisle, a retired Sacramento City firefighter of 30 years. They have three grown children.
Sophia Angelis, Student Member
Contact:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Took Office: March 11, 2009
Term Expires:
July 31, 2009
Sophia Angelis is a senior at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, CA.She has been actively involved in service to her community and country as the former president of Interact, and the current president of the National Honor Society, where she and the other membersfocus on raising funds and awareness to help alleviate international poverty and disease. Sophia has also been her Junior State of America chapter President, her school's Site Council's Chair, and a member of the volleyball team.She has also taken an active role in promoting environmentalism, having been chosen by the California Air Resources Board to represent the US at the G8 Environment Minister's meeting in Japan last May, along with two other California students. Since then, she hasstarted a column in her local paper,allowingstudents to recommend ways for the local community to all live more sustainably.
