BLACKBOARD - Key Persons
Allison currently serves as a Program Specialist in the Eastern Region, where she leads, aligns, and calibrates efforts for regions and organizational departments. She informs, designs, and implements internal professional learning and represents regions as a resource for organizational goals, strategies, and tactics supporting AVID's growth, impact, and organizational culture.
Job Titles:
- AVID in 2021 As the Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Development
- SENIOR DIRECTOR, MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS
Blake Haller joined AVID in 2021 as the Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Development. She is responsible for leading the Marketing Team in AVID's efforts to spread the news and grow the impact AVID continues to have on students and educators across the nation. She has served education from the business and marketing perspective for 13 years and brings almost 20 years of marketing and sales experience to her role. During her time in education, working with educators has become one of her greatest fulfillments. To support educators in the important work they do supporting students is why she is committed to furthering the work AVID has done for over 40 years and will continue to do and grow into the future.
Throughout her various roles leading marketing teams in the education space, Blake has focused on ensuring brands communicate in authentic and impactful ways. This authenticity and reflection of their true self is what immediately drew her to AVID and the amazing team members who work to support our mission. Within the discipline of marketing, Blake specializes in bringing sales and marketing teams together to collaboratively serve the customer with integrity and simultaneously grow the organization's impact. She also brings extensive experience planning organizational strategy, leading data-driven growth and expansion tactics, and providing market alignment for product, training, and leadership teams.
From graphic design to leadership, Blake's various career awards include multiple American Graphic Design Awards for email and web, various key leadership roles including the Director's Circle at Dell Computers, and her certification in Brené Brown's "Dare to Lead" leadership training course. She also works with new managers to mentor and coach the skills needed for effective leadership, specifically focusing on the need to empower women in leadership.
Blake attended Texas A&M University, where she studied psychology and communication. She resides with her family in Austin, Texas, where they enjoy the city's nature, live music, and food scene.
Job Titles:
- VICE PRESIDENT
- AVID in 2021 As the Vice President of Technology and Data
Christen Ng joined AVID in 2021 as the Vice President of Technology and Data. She is responsible for leading the Technology Service team in bringing the organization's technology infrastructure, applications, and data/impact strategy to life. She has extensive experience in building systems and resources that leverage data-driven insights to drive efficacy in many nonprofit segments: healthcare, workforce development, arts education policy, and gender equity/DEI.
She has become highly skilled in organizational performance management, program assessment and evaluation, and outcomes measurement. This expertise has translated to millions of dollars in grants, local and national recognition/awards, changes in Chicago's education policy, program models that have been scaled and replicated, and master class workshops and presentations in sharing proven solutions.
Christen holds an MBA in international business from Webster University and a bachelor's degree in information systems from DePaul University. She has also served as Vice President on the board of the United Nations Association of Chicago and volunteered as a mentor for MIT's Solve initiative.
Mr. Fields 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.
Colonel Robert Gordon, USA, Ret., joined AVID's Board of Directors in 2018. He is the Chief Growth Officer of SBG Technology Solutions, a technology and services company that delivers best-in-class solutions for customers that govern modernization, optimize operations and secure vital IT infrastructure. He has extensive senior management and cross-sector experience in the military, government, technology, and nonprofit sectors. He is the former president of Be the Change, Inc., a social impact organization that creates and manages national issue-based campaigns. He was also a senior executive at two high tech companies, and former senior vice president and chief people and program officer at City Year. In 2010, Mr. Gordon was appointed the deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, where he was responsible for defense-wide policy, program execution, and oversight of more than $20 billion of the Defense Department's worldwide community and family programs and initiatives. He was awarded the selective Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the second highest award presented by the Secretary of Defense to non-career Federal employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals. He is a retired U.S. Army colonel who completed a 26-year career in the Army.
Mr. Gordon serves on the boards of the Service Year Alliance, Grab the Torch, the advisory board of Blue Star Families and the advisory council of Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters of Public Affairs from Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- Superintendent of the Sacramento
- System
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 244,000 students in thirteen school districts. 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 to 2003 Mr. Gordon served on the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
Mr. Gordon 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.
From 1995 to 2004, Mr. Gordon served as superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District. Elk Grove is an ethnically and economically diverse district of more than 63,000 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.
Among his achievements, 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.
Mr. Gordon earned 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 and his wife Deborah, a novelist, have two children and six grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- VICE PRESIDENT
- Vice President, Learning Products
Dr. Lynn Kepp is the Vice President, Learning Products and Services at AVID Center where she leads the Teaching and Digital Learning, Professional Learning, Leadership Development, and Events teams. The combined team of talented individuals develops and delivers AVID's best-in-class products and services.
Lynn came to AVID after 16 years at New Teacher Center (NTC). At NTC, Lynn was a member of the Leadership Team and held a variety of roles including Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Senior Vice President of Professional Services, Director of Online Professional Development, a founding developer of the e-Mentoring for Student Success program, and a professional development presenter.
Prior to joining NTC, Lynn was the Coordinator of the Credential Programs at UC Santa Cruz. She has a Doctorate in Education from UC Riverside with a research focus on Teacher Development and has a Master's in Science Education from Cal State Fullerton. She spent the first decade of her career as a high school science teacher and a district mentor. Lynn's experience as a foster parent of a first-generation college student motivates her to expand support and resources for foster youth including volunteering as a mentor for former foster youth in college in San Diego.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at Colorado Mountain College
- System
Dr. Matt Gianneschi is the chief operating officer and chief of staff at Colorado Mountain College, a comprehensive, multi-campus community college in Colorado's central Rocky Mountain region. Prior to joining CMC, Dr. Gianneschi served as vice president of policy and programs at the Education Commission of the States, a national, nonpartisan education policy nonprofit, work that was informed by his time as a senior officer in state government. Dr. Gianneschi was the deputy executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education from 2011 to 2013, senior education advisor to Governor Bill Ritter from 2007 to 2009, and chief academic officer for the Colorado Department of Higher Education from 2004 to 2007. In between his work at the state level, Dr. Gianneschi was the vice president of student services at the Community College of Aurora, a large, urban community college in the Denver metro region.
Most of Dr. Gianneschi's early career was spent in student access and support services. He was an admission officer for the University of Denver and the University of Puget Sound, as well as the director of operations for the Daniels College Prep and Scholarship Program in the Daniels Fund, the Rocky Mountain region's largest college access and scholarship program. Dr. Gianneschi has led numerous innovation initiatives funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Ford Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and Intel.
Dr. Gianneschi is an alumnus of the Denver Public Schools and received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Denver and a Doctor of Philosophy from the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. Dr. Gianneschi has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver and the Community College of Aurora and has served on graduate committees at Colorado State University, Regis University, and the University of Colorado. He has served in advisory roles for the Denver Scholarship Foundation, the Aspen Community Foundation, and the Colorado Northwest Council of Governments. In 2011, Dr. Gianneschi was awarded a Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Job Titles:
- Faculty Co - Chair and Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University
Dr. Ferguson actively works with school departments and agencies at all levels of government on efforts to raise achievement levels and close achievement gaps. His research and work in the field culminated in publishing Toward Excellence with Equity: An Emerging Vision for Closing the Achievement Gap, a book used in graduate-level policy courses. His latest book is Aiming Higher Together, Strategizing Better Educational Outcomes for Boys and Young Men of Color.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR DIRECTOR
- As Senior Director
As Senior Director, Dr. Wendell Brown supervises the quality, implementation, and support services for the Central Region AVID schools, which stretch across the 22 states in the middle of the United States.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the BOARD
- TREASURER
- Shareholder at Mc
Eligio Pimentel is a shareholder at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd., and a lifelong education advocate. Mr. Pimentel grew up in the small town of Exeter in the California Central Valley, the son of migrant farm workers. Blessed with the support of a community of family, teachers, and friends who took a keen and active interest in his success, Mr. Pimentel went on to earn a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, and a J.D. with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Mr. Pimentel is a long-time, active supporter of educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged children. He is a past board member and vice chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education. Prior to that, he served on the boards of the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and the Mary Crane Center.
Mr. Pimentel tries to maintain life balance through sport and is a nine-time Ironman® triathlon finisher, including the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois with his wife of 28 years and his two sons and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Human Resources
Jaime evangelizes the power and potential of the web, technology, and Google tools as enabling and supporting capabilities in pursuit of fostering inquiry-driven project-based learning models. He collaborates with educational organizations and leaders building innovation and iteration into our education practices. He speaks on the subject of technology, education, and innovation around the world. In addition to his role at Google, Jaime serves on a number of boards, including the Arizona Science Foundation, Seed Spot NEXT, and Inquire Schools. He serves as an advisor to dozens of organizations focused on education, technology, and equity. Jaime is also an adjunct professor at Arizona State University, where he teaches classes on policy, innovation, and leadership.
James is a passionate and visionary leader who has held numerous positions at multiple companies and has shipped major software titles at IBM, Microsoft, and Google. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed research papers and authored five award-winning and bestselling technical books.
Job Titles:
- Washington Post Columnist
Mary Catherine Swanson taught high school English for 20 years. During that time she was instrumental in developing numerous award-winning language arts programs. In 1980 she developed AVID, a secondary school program that prepares underachieving students for four-year college entry. Today, 95 percent of AVID graduates enroll in college. Mary Catherine created the AVID Center in 1992 to support the in-school system.
Among the awards and recognition Ms. Swanson has received are the A+ Award for Reaching the Goals of America 2000 from the U.S. Department of Education; the EXCEL Award for Excellence in Teaching; the Salute to Excellence from the American Association for Higher Education; the Headliner of the Year from the San Diego Press Club; Cable's Leaders in Learning Award for General Excellence, a recognition of her innovative leadership; University of San Diego Remarkable Leader in Education; and University of California Outstanding Alumnus.
CNN and Time Magazine named her America's Best Teacher in 2001, and she was one of three 2001 recipients of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. She is listed in Who's Who in America, and has been the commencement speaker at numerous universities, earning three honorary doctorates.
Mary Catherine Swanson is the only public school teacher ever to have won the $50,000 award for Pioneering Achievement in Education from the Charles A. Dana Foundation in New York. In presenting that award, the Foundation cited her for "heeding the teacher's calling at the highest level of professional dedication in developing AVID, an imaginative restructuring of the school day that has given thousands of students the skills, support, and guidance that they need to fulfill their potential-far too tragically overlooked-to prepare for a college education."
Swanson's contribution to American education has also been recognized by Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews, who wrote, "I don't know any single person in the country who has done more for our school children than AVID founder Mary Catherine Swanson."
In 2006, Ms. Swanson retired as CEO of AVID, though she remains on the board of directors. In recognition of her retirement, the board of directors established perpetual Founder's Scholarships to be given to five AVID students each year.
Ms. Swanson is married and the mother of Tom Swanson, a graduate of Stanford University and a history teacher at Del Norte High School in San Diego, California. Tom's decision to enter the teaching profession is Mary Catherine's proudest moment.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR DIRECTOR
- Team in 2015 As AVID State Director
Melissa Cole joined the AVID Center Team in 2015 as AVID State Director supporting AVID implementation in schools and districts across Oregon. She now serves as AVID Senior Region Director in the Western Region, leading and supporting regional staff while managing regional operations that include but are not limited to developing a multi-state presence and monitoring AVID program results.
Before joining AVID Center, Melissa served as Director, Middle School Education at Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem, Oregon, where she ensured the district-wide implementation of strategic plan initiatives at the middle school level. As an instructional leader, she established a collaborative middle school administrative leadership team who worked together to raise student achievement for every student. Through embedded coaching and a comprehensive supervision cycle focused on the instructional core, she provided the support and feedback to engage administrators in schoolwide improvement.
A first-generation college graduate, Melissa earned her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Montana and her MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Oregon. Melissa is driven by a firm belief that education breaks barriers and changes the trajectory of families for generations.
Job Titles:
- Private Investor, Business Consultant, Education
- Strategic Advisor
- System
Mr. Juba was formerly the chief executive officer of a leading global consumer lighting company that he sold to a private equity firm in 1999. Since then, he has been involved in local start-up companies as an investor and advisor. He co-founded the Bend Venture Conference, which has become the leading conference in Oregon for angel investors. Mr. Juba started his business career as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in New York.
Mr. Juba has advocated at the state level for higher student achievement through work on the Chalkboard Advisory Committee, Oregon School Board Association Board of Directors, and as a governor appointee to the Oregon Education Investment Team, Higher Education Coordinating Commission, and the Accelerated Learning Committee.
A native of New York, he graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. with distinction in Economics and an M.A. in International Policy Studies. He has two sons and enjoys travel, food, kayaking, college sports, and reading.
Nori Juba, a private investor, business consultant, education advocate, and also strategic advisor to James Michelle Jewelry.
Job Titles:
- EXECUTIVE
- EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Steve Silberman joined the team at AVID Center as Executive Vice President in May 2015. He oversees business operations including marketing, communication, finance, human resources, research, evaluation, development, and strategic planning.
Mr. Silberman brings with him years of experience as a strong leader of people and business entities. He has spent most of his career in media and marketing. Most recently, he served as a regional president for the Gannett Company, a Fortune 500 company that is the largest publisher of newspapers in the country. While at Gannett, he led the region's transformation from a traditional newspaper to a digital organization, providing sophisticated digital marketing solutions and content. He also spearheaded an industry-wide project on innovation. Mr. Silberman is a storyteller at heart and has worked closely with school districts, hospitals, nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses to tell their stories, grow their brand, and extend their footprint.
Mr. Silberman is passionate about education and providing opportunities for all students to succeed. His master's thesis focused on public schools in New York City. Early in his career, he was an education reporter; he has written about and been involved with education reform in six different states. As a business executive, community leader, publisher, and editor, Mr. Silberman has advocated for strong public schools and for educational equity. His involvement in assisting schools and students most recently included the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation, Willamette Academy, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce's Ready to Learn-Ready to Work program, and Academic All Stars.
Mr. Silberman is long familiar with AVID-his two children attended schools that relied on the AVID system, and his wife taught at a school that implemented AVID as well.
Mr. Silberman has an MS in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a BA in Sociology from Vassar College.
Job Titles:
- Retired Superintendent
- System
Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D., is a retired superintendent who successfully served in Pomona, Santa Ana, and Inglewood in California. As superintendent, she oversaw the educational programs and operations of her school districts. Dr. Meléndez brings a wealth of experience from her 38-year career in education, from being a bilingual first-grade teacher in Montebello Unified School District to being the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education in the Obama Administration. The American Association of School Administrators named her the California Superintendent of the Year in 2009.
Prior to her position in Inglewood, Dr. Meléndez served as the chief executive officer in the Office of Educational Services for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). As chief executive officer, Dr. Meléndez was responsible for the administrative oversight of multiple educational and business services for the more than 1,000 schools of LAUSD. In Los Angeles she also served as the senior education advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
As U.S. Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education, Dr. Meléndez was the principal advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. While there, she helped to develop the Blueprint for Reform and led the administration of $13 billion in grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
She earned a B.A. cum laude from UCLA, a Ph.D. from USC's Rossier School of Education, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Pepperdine University. Dr. Meléndez's recognitions include the top 2012 Alumni Merit Award from the USC Alumni Association, the 2011 National Hispanic Woman of the Year from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, and the 2010 Woman of the Year of Hispanic Business Magazine. Dr. Meléndez currently sits on the Getty Board of Trustees and is Trustee Emerita of the California State University Board of Trustees. She is married to Otto Santa Ana, a retired UCLA professor. They reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Job Titles:
- CHIEF EXECUTIVE
- CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
- AVID As Executive Vice President
- AVID CEO
Thuan Nguyen, AVID CEO, officially stepped into his role in April 2022. Dr. Nguyen first joined AVID as Executive Vice President in 2016 and was since promoted to Chief Operating Officer and then to President and Chief Operating Officer.
Dr. Nguyen, who immigrated from Vietnam to the United States at eight years old as a refugee, credits public education and devoted educators for transforming his and his family's lives. His drive is to create opportunities for all students to dream big and create their own paths to succeed and thrive.
He is responsible for implementing AVID's strategy, which includes furthering its mission of closing the opportunity gap and preparing all students for college and career; accelerating the scalability of AVID as a schoolwide and districtwide system; developing student-centric technologies to enhance and sustain the student experience in AVID; and determining how AVID can best serve urban districts.
At AVID, Dr. Nguyen has been instrumental in launching more resources for educators over the past four years than at any time in AVID's history, creating AVID's public service for educators and navigating the organization through the pandemic. During Dr. Nguyen's tenure, more than 3,200 schools have partnered with AVID Center, increasing the number of students served by more than 1.5 million.
Dr. Nguyen brings to AVID more than 20 years of experience in education. He started as a student helper delivering mail after class for Washington State Kent School District. He eventually became the Assistant Superintendent/Chief Digital Strategy Officer, responsible for the overall success of the district's information technology, communications and security policies, programs, and services. Dr. Nguyen has held executive roles in IT, instructional technology, safety and security, environmental services, communications, public relations, and building operations. Additionally, he served in interim executive roles in human resources, payroll, accounting, and finance.
Dr. Nguyen was named a Computerworld Honors Program Laureate in 2008, was selected as one of the National School Boards Association's "20 to Watch" for 2008, and was named as one of the 100 most important people in education technology as part of Tech & Learning's 30th anniversary celebration in 2010. He has also worked on two projects permanently archived in the research collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. In 2013, Dr. Nguyen's work received recognition from the Center for Digital Education, the National School Public Relations Association, the One-to-One Institute, and Project RED for web technologies, branding and communication to the community, student technology, and a one-to-one project. His team also received the national CoSN Team Award and was recognized by the National School Board Association in 2014. In 2015, he was honored by the Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE) as the Outstanding Technology Leader of the Year.
In 2021, Dr. Nguyen became the 58th person in San Diego State University's history to be awarded an honorary doctorate for his work in education. The first person to receive such an honor by SDSU was John F. Kennedy.