BOOST Collaborative

MEET THE BREAKFAST CLUB

Steven Amick
Director of School District Partnerships
THINK Together
Orange County, CA

Steven Amick is the Director of School District Partnerships for THINK Together, and serves part-time as the Coordinator of the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance (CA3). He is an after-school professional with over eighteen years experience working at every level of direct service and administration. In 2007, he co-founded the League of California Afterschool Providers, which convened and coordinated the largest publicly funded grantees in California to inform policies and administrative decisions affecting the field. He served seven years as a program director for the YMCA of San Diego County before being selected to administer the City of San Diego’s “6 to 6” Program from 1999 to 2003. He was then appointed by the San Diego County Office of Education to serve as the Region 9 Lead for Before and After School Programs, responsible to provide training and technical assistance to over 550 schools in San Diego, Orange and Imperial Counties, serving over 50,000 students daily. He is the Vice-Chair of the National Afterschool Association’s Board of Directors, and an Ambassador Emeritus of the Afterschool Alliance. He was elected the first Co-Chair of the California Afterschool Network Executive Committee, and was designated by the Office of the Secretary of Education to serve on the California Advisory Committee on Before and After School Programs.

Diego Arancibia
Coordinator
ASAPConnect
San Jose, CA

Diego Arancibia has worked in the field of After-School for over 15 years.  His experience ranges from working with elementary, middle school and high school students at the various programmatic and administrative levels.   His innovative methods in marketing and programming has produced some of the most successful programs in the nation. Also, he has traveled across the nation training youth program advocates in consensus building, action planning, programming.  Currently, Diego is the Coordinator with ASAPconnect and lives in the Bay Area with his beautiful wife and his amazing son and daughter.

Mike Ashcraft
Co-Founder & CEO
Children’s Choice
Albuquerque, NM

Mike Ashcraft, M.A. is the Co-Founder & CEO of Children's Choice in Albuquerque NM. He is a doctoral of education candidate with NSU.  He has more than 20 years of experience in the profession.  He is a former trainer & professional writing contractor for the NM Department of Education, adjunct professor at Concordia University (teaching courses in afterschool programming), Accreditation Endorser for NAA, & President of both NMSACA & NMAEYC.  He is the author of Best Practices: Guidelines for School-Age Programs published by www.sparrowmediagroup.com.

Gabriela Baeza
Program Coordinator
San Diego County Office of Education
San Diego, CA

Gabriela Baeza joined the San Diego County Office of Education in 1999. As a Project Specialist for violence prevention programs, Gabriela assists schools with the implementation of youth prevention programs, school safety plans, and violence prevention strategies. She provides training in gang awareness, human trafficking, female aggression, and other gender-specific topics to administrators and community agencies. Gabriela has a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration and Sociology from San Diego State University.

Randy Barth
Founder & CEO
THINK Together
Santa Ana, CA

Randy Barth is Founder & CEO of THINK Together, the next generation of after-school. For more than 20 years he worked in the for-profit arena: first, as an investment advisor with various major Wall Street firms and then as CEO of a $40 million privately-held regional transportation company. He's a graduate of UCLA and attended Claremont Graduate University's Drucker School of Business.

Mark Blackshear
Youth Leadership Trainer
Mental Health Systems Inc.
San Diego, CA

Mark Blackshear is an extraordinary young man and an inspiring trainer. He has been in the youth development field for ten years, coaching and counseling youth in a variety of settings including high schools, youth camps, faith-based organizations, and non-profit organizations. He has also counseled and mentored severely emotionally disturbed, at risk and system involved youth. Mark is a 2002 Graduate of the Oracle Program at Garfield High School in San Diego, CA. As a former "system involved youth" Mark became a founding member of the Take Wing Youth Advisory Board at San Diego Youth Services. His example of overcoming challenges and creating success, he provides inspiration and insight to both youth and adults. Mark has been the Youth Leadership Trainer for the Caring Helpers Leadership Training Program of Mental Health Systems, Inc., since 2007 where he has contributed to the development of numerous character development and leadership training courses. He trains and teaches approximately 2,000 youth and adults per year in youth development and leadership skills, and he has spoken at conferences and programs across California, on topics relating to youth issues. In addition to his numerous accomplishments, Mark coaches track and field, volunteers as a ministry leader and serves as a mentor for The Foster Youth Mentor Program of San Diego County.

Katie Brackenridge
Director, Out-of-School Time Initiatives
Partnership for Children and Youth
Oakland, CA

Katie joined the Bay Area Partnership in 2004, and directs the Out of School Time Initiative. She has helped hundreds of school and community-based after school programs develop sustainability plans; plan and submit 21st CCLC and Prop.49/ASES grants; access additional funding sources; and improve their program practices. Katie also supports the Partnership’s work to develop and improve policies that make out-of-school time programming more accessible and effective. Katie has been teaching, managing and providing technical assistance to after school programs since 1990.

Tara Donahue
Research and Evaluation Specialist
Edvantia
Nashville, TN

Tara Donahue is a Research and Evaluation Specialist at Edvantia in Nashville, TN where she works on a variety of evaluation projects in high schools and for the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC). Previously, she worked at the American Institutes for Research in Naperville, IL in the expanded learning groups where she provided technical assistance and training to elementary, middle, and high school sites. She received her doctorate in Educational Policy from Michigan State University.

Nathan Eklund
Principal Consultant
Eklund Consulting
Minneapolis, MN

Eklund taught high school English for 12 years. He was department chair, head coach of the boys’ soccer team, theater director, and unofficial director of staff socializing. In his years in the classroom, Eklund developed not only a passion for teaching and learning but also for the role adult relationships with one another has in creating a sustainable and enjoyable career in teaching. This passion for workplace culture and teacher job satisfaction led him to be “re-called” into his present work in education.

Eklund served as Head of Education Services and Senior Education Consultant and Minneapolis based Search Institute for 6 years where he focused on creating positive cultures and climates for students and staff alike. His research on school workplace culture culminated in his book How Was Your Day at School?: Improving Dialogue about Teacher Job Satisfaction.

Eklund is now the principal consultant in his own firm Eklund Consulting. In this role, he speaks, trains, and consults around the core factors of intentional and rigorous organizational improvement in schools. Recently referred to as “the school whisperer,” Nathan engages with schools to affect meaningful and transformative changes to schools and the adults working in them.

Dr. Andi Fletcher
Chief Consultant
Center for Collaborative Solutions
Sacramento, CA

Dr. Andi Fletcher is a nationally recognized leader in afterschool program and policy development. In additional to designing, directing and developing one of the most outstanding programs in the country, she initiated California’s first afterschool legislation, which has resulted in $550 million in funding for programs serving close to a million children and young people. As a consultant, coach and mentor, she has worked closely with 180 programs and led six national, statewide and regional learning communities. Over 20,000 people have attended her workshops and keynote speeches at more than 150 conferences. Her books and articles are among the most widely used in the United States. A Guide to Developing Exemplary Practices in Afterschool Programs, Lessons in Leadership and Expand and Excel: Taking your Program to the Next Level can be purchased at Amazon.com or AfterschoolSolutions.org. Her most recent book, Changing Lives, Saving Lives, is available at AfterschoolSolutions.org.

Todd Flora
Manager of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs
IBM
Los Angeles, CA

For over a decade, Todd Flora has worked among some of California’s most dynamic leaders in public affairs, education, and the nonprofit community. He joined IBM in July 2006 as Manager of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, where he focuses on the issues of education and workforce development, diversity, and the application of innovative technologies toward the creation of a “Smarter Planet.” Todd also implements IBM’s grant programs, and promotes the company’s corporate responsibility and innovative solutions among employees and nonprofit organizations, schools, and the public sector.

Chad Furlong
Founder and President
iThink Assemblies
San Diego, CA

When Chad was in high school he was forced to endure what he calls, "lame school assemblies." Because of that, he decided to develop a program that would inspire students to dream big with their life and overcome obstacles with culturally relevant methods. He's spoken to over 500,000 students through the years. Chad, his wife Nicole, and two daughters live in San Diego, CA.

Julia Gabor
Senior Programs Manager
Tiger Woods Foundation
Irvine, CA

Julia Gabor is the Senior Programs Manager at the Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF). Julia develops specialized programs ranging from activity based curriculum in a variety of different educational areas to creating a colligate mentor program. While at TWF Julia managed a national character education program called- Tiger's Action Plan (TAP). TAP is a free youth development curriculum that focuses on leadership, goal setting, service learning and career exploration. Julia currently trains and facilitates workshops for educators, mentor professionals and students. She develops implementation strategies across the nation for several types of educational programs in order to enhance student success towards a productive future. Prior to joining TWF, Julia was a Coordinator for the After School All Stars in Los Angeles, where she taught a range of middle school enrichment classes- from personal leadership to sports, to performance and visual art classes. Julia has been teaching/leading groups since she was a teenager working alongside her mother, who is an acting teacher, and coach in the USA and Europe.  Julia has served as a trainer/facilitator in disguised learning and cultural diversity throughout California. In 2009, Julia received the Honored Educator Award from Cal State Fullerton for dedication to education in the Orange County Community. Miss Gabor is a graduate of the State University of New York, Fredonia receiving her bachelor's degree in the Fine Arts. She is currently studying for her masters in educational leadership and change at Antioch University.

Dr. Gale K. Gorke
Executive Director
Kids Kan Inc.
Calimesa, CA

Dr. Gale K. Gorke has been a public school educator nearly 25 years and currently is the Executive Director of Kids Kan Inc., an organization that specializes in staff development, activity selection and program implementation. Gale serves as an adjunct professor for La Sierra University.  Her doctorate focused on academic intervention in after school programs.  She effectively models teaching that accommodates for all students, regardless of ability.  Her enthusiasm is contagious!

Gloria Halley
Region 2 Lead
Butte County Office of Education
Oroville, CA

In July 2009, Gloria Halley became the Regional Lead for Region 2 Learning Support where she provides support and assistance to afterschool programs in nine rural counties in northern California.  Gloria has worked for several years as a consultant working for the Center for Collaborative Solutions under the auspices of the Butte County Office of Education, where she has been a key consultant in the Healthy Behaviors Initiative.  In addition, she has served as a team member in Afterschool Regions 1, 4, 5, and 10 in California and has provided numerous trainings throughout the state and nation.  She has been a trainer with the California Healthy Kids Resource Center and worked with the California School Age Consortium as a Job Coach on their Workforce Development Initiative.  She currently serves on the Leadership Team of the California After School Network and is an Advisory Board Member for ASAPconnect and the California After School Resource Center.

Ursula Helminski
Vice President, External Affairs
Afterschool Alliance
New York, NY

Ursula Helminski has worked with the Afterschool Alliance since its inception, and was part of its founding team.  She develops strategy and communications for the organization, and oversees public awareness initiatives such as the national Lights On Afterschool event and Afterschool for All, a campaign uniting high profile and grassroots voices from diverse sectors in support of afterschool.  Before coming to the Afterschool Alliance, she was a Senior Associate at the communications and organizing consulting firm Fowler Hoffman, where she worked on issue campaigns ranging from youth violence prevention to telecommunications, and advised foundations on their communications strategies.  She has served as editor of a trade journal covering policy in Washington, D.C., worked in cause related marketing at The Nature Conservancy and taught English in a Moscow public school.  Ursula has a B.A. in Political Science and English from Duke University.

Keighty Lautz
Student, Co-Executive Director
Amigos de UCLA
Los Angeles, CA

Born and raised in San Diego, Keighty attended a variety of after-school programs, ranging from sports teams to music classes. She is now an undergraduate at the University of California—Los Angeles, where she serves as Co-Executive Director of Amigos de UCLA. Amigos de UCLA is a student-run organization that provides one-on-one tutoring and mentoring in two public schools in Los Angeles. Moreover, Keighty serves on UCLA’s Community Service Mini-fund Committee, which provides grants to student-run community service organizations. Keighty plans to pursue a career in education reform, with the aim of narrowing the achievement gap between low-income youth and their upper-income peers. She hopes to teach in public schools and eventually work in school administration, education research, and/or policymaking.

Brad Lupien
Co-Founder and Co-President
Champions
Inglewood, CA

Brad Lupien holds a Bachelor's in Social Work from the University of Vermont and a Master's in Teaching from Simmons College in Boston, MA . While teaching in the inner-cities of the Boston Public School system, he developed the Outdoor Education Club. His extensive athletic and outdoor experience includes guiding month-long wilderness excursions through the Rocky Mountains and National Parks. Brad left teaching in the classroom to teach in the outdoors. In 2001 Brad met Gary Lipsky, a Los Angeles based entrepreneur, and they began Good Sports Plus, which incorporated later as Champions: Adventure, After School and Sports Programs. At Champions, Brad currently oversees 32 after school sites, 4 PE sites, and Outdoor Adventure Clubs at over 70 youth organizations. Champions older youth model has won city, state and national accolades in the past 3 years. Additionally, Brad is a board member for multiple CBOs including CORE Educational Services, Interfaith Family, SOS Classroom, and the Take Action Campaign.

Justin McGlamery
Writer & Teacher
Saint Joseph College
West Hartford, CT

Justin McGlamery has been facilitating Adventure Therapy and Teambuilding groups and teaching Experiential Education and Leadership & Group Dynamics classes at Saint Joseph College for nine years, working primarily with college-aged groups, adolescents and special-needs populations.  In addition to presenting at many regional, national and international conferences about using experiential activities to engage learners and to enhance teaching, Justin has co-authored his first book, Focus Your Locus: Activities that Focus the Power of Individuals and Groups, published by Wood ‘N’ Barnes.

Gary Moody
Educational Consultant
Gypsy Scholar/ Educational Consultant
Frenso, CA

Gary Moody is an educator, motivational speaker, staff trainer, artist, musician and writer. His expertise in curriculum, programming and youth development comes from over 35 years teaching, coaching and working as a principal and county administrator throughout numerous California Public Schools. During his career he has worked with all grades, special education, college, adult, and corporate America. Gary was selected in 1991 as a National Danforth Leadership Scholar and received his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum Development from Fresno State. Gary currently serves as the governor’s appointee for the Afterschool Advisory Committee for Before and After School programs and consults for the Fresno County Office of Education providing training, curriculum development and quality assurance for over 140 after-school programs.

Roberta Pantle
Education Consultant
Anaheim Family YMCA:  Anaheim Achieves After School Program
Anaheim, CA

Roberta Pantle, education consultant for the Anaheim Family YMCA since 2000, provides curriculum support for the Anaheim Family YMCA’s Anaheim Achieves After School Collaborative, serving 47 elementary schools, six junior high schools, and three high schools in the Greater Anaheim Area. A former assistant superintendent, principal, teacher, community college and university instructor, she works with educational and community organizations as a consultant and public relations specialist. She is affiliated with UCLA’s Pi Lambda Theta and CSUF’s Phi Kappa Phi, and Region 17 Association of California School Administrators.

Roberta has published articles, including a California Education article on English immersion instruction, discussed education on National Public Radio, and presented at various conferences. In partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, she and several Anaheim Achieves Program Supervisors have become Fellows of the Institute for Character Education, a key component of YMCA programs nationally.

Shawn Petty
Technical Assistance Manager
Edvance Research
San Antonio, TX

Shawn C. Petty joins Edvance Research as the Technical Assistance Manager to oversee the development of educational training courses, coordinate the efforts of consultants, and to monitor the progress of support to the Texas Education Agency for the Texas ACE / 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. In addition, he assists the Executive Vice President for Emerging Practices in monitoring educational trends and highlighting innovative practices that are transforming the industry.

Petty has been a Project Director for Texas ACE serving the Klein Independent School District, a past President and Secretary of the South East Texas Afterschool Association, and an active member of the National Afterschool Association and its state affiliate. Known for his encouragement of the use of Web 2.0 tools in education, Petty is a frequent presenter on the national stage.

Petty holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from BYU-Hawaii and recently graduated with his Masters of Political Management from George Washington University.

Carola Secada
Operations and Training Director
YMCA of Greater Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

Carola Secada, B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior from University of California, Irvine, has 9 years of experience as a Youth Worker. Carola has been working for the YMCA for the past 8 years and is currently the After School Operations and Training Director. She oversees grant requirements are fulfilled for the 21st Century Community Schools and ASES After School programs, including the successful implementation of the balanced literacy program. She also is the lead for After School University, which is a comprehensive practitioner based training program for after school staff with the ultimate goal of helping youth succeed in school, at home and in life. Carola is a member of the BOOST Conference Leadership Team, enjoys traveling and loves to laugh out loud.

Jane Sharp
Consultant
Sharp Ideas Consulting
Allentown, NJ

Jane worked for nine years in the Office of Early Care and Education in the New Jersey Department of Human Services where she coordinated the Map to Inclusive Child Care Team, managed afterschool contracts, developed resource materials and conducted state and national trainings. From 1985 to 2000 she was a YMCA Director responsible for afterschool, summer camp and teen employment programs for over 2000 youth annually. Currently Jane is a private consultant providing research/evaluation, strategic planning and professional development for youth programs.

Jessie Singer
Executive Director
Dysart Community Center
El Mirage, AZ

Jessie Singer is the Executive Director for Dysart Community Center, a nonprofit organization in the Northwest Valley of Phoenix, AZ. The mission of the non-profit Center is to provide educational and developmental opportunities for low-income children and adults in our local communities. The Center caters to low-income families and is either free or has minimal cost to the participants. Some of the focuses include 1-on-1 English (ESL) tutoring for adults, GED prep classes, and after school or summer care for school-age youth. Under her leadership, the Center has doubled the number of youth served and had a dramatic increase in funding through grants and private donations.  Her past experience includes Community Program Director for DMB Associates and an ESL Instructor for Rio Salado Community College. Ms. Singer holds a B.A. in Spanish Literature, a Masters in Business Administration, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Management with a focus on Nonprofit Hiring Practices.

Jaime Stephanidis
Program Associate
American Institutes for Research
Chicago, IL

Jaime is a Consultant at the American Institutes for Research in Chicago, providing training, technical assistance, and professional development to afterschool programs nationally, with a concentrated effort on the 21st CCLC programs in Illinois.  Ms. Stephanidis has presented at national, regional, and statewide conferences on topics such as sustainability, evaluation, and using data for continuous program improvement.  Previously, she worked in New Hampshire as a Consultant for afterschool programs in need of training, coaching, and guidance.

John Vandenburgh
Founder
PLUS Program, CyberBully Alert
Los Angeles, CA

John Vandenburgh began his career as a High School Teacher in Southern California.  In 2002 he was honored as one the regional California League of High Schools Educators of the Year.  His career transitioned into a focus on building safe school climates in schools when he became a District Safe Schools Administrator.  He has served on the California Department of Education’s Gang Task Force where he assisted in developing the Getting Results Update on Gang Violence for schools in the state of California.  In 2007 he received the Ananda Guruge Lifetime Commitment Award for Violence Prevention, presented by Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace Foundation based in Los Angeles, California.  He is currently the Vice President of the California School Resource Officers Association (CSROA) and an active member of the Southern California Regional Violence Prevention Coalition. John Vandenburgh is a nationally recognized speaker, program developer and trainer on violence prevention and youth development approaches in education.  John has presented for the California Office of Homeland Security on Developing Safe Schools, California Attorney General Gang Summit on Gang Prevention in schools, and The National Youth at Risk Conference on Utilizing Youth Leadership strategies to develop school climate. He is the author of the PLUS (Peer Leaders Uniting Students) Program, and the creator of the internet safety software “CyberBully Alert.”  His latest work has gained international attention as an innovative method and strategy for addressing online safety and Cyberbullying.

Richard Wells
Business Development Manager 
nFocus Software
Washington D.C.

Richard Wells is the Enterprise Sales and Business Development Manager for nFocus Software.  nFocus Software is the nation’s leading provider of performance management, training, and outcome measurement software for the public sector with over 4,500 clients tracking over 9 million people worldwide.  Richard is a member of the senior management team providing leadership for strategic business partnerships and community-wide data management projects. Prior to joining nFocus Software, Richard was Vice President of Partner Driven Projects for America's Promise Alliance.  Most recently, he led the America’s Promise Alliance national dropout prevention initiative described by Achieve, Inc. as the “largest ever action agenda on increasing graduation rates with a college and career ready diploma.” Over 30,000 local leaders were engaged in the summits and the initiative made over 400 million media impressions.  Other national initiatives Richard directed at America’s Promise included the 100 Best Communities for Young People competition, highlighted by Newsweek, USA Today and the Today Show and the Katrina’s Kids project, featured as a best practice in community mobilization by the Bridgespan Group. Richard has served as a member of the National Governor’s Association Advisory Committee On Dropout Prevention and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America High School Graduation Task Force. He was also one of four Americans selected to participate in a 2010 professional exchange project to Ukraine, supported by American Councils for International Education and the U.S. Department of State. Prior to joining the staff of America’s Promise, Richard led community mobilization projects for the Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families and also served as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow in Charleston, South Carolina. Richard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in English Education from Saint Cloud State University and a Master’s degree in Community and Economic Development from The Pennsylvania State University.

Annette Zucconi
Program Manager
Napa County Office of Education
Windsor, CA

Annette Zucconi, M.A.Ed., is a Program Manager for CalSERVES at the Napa County Office of Education. She has over 23 years experience serving in the company of children as a classroom teacher, and after school leader, site director and administrator. She is an acclaimed Tribes TLC Learning Communities trainer who facilitates dynamic training events, empowering participants through cooperative, and meaningful learning experiences. She is also an active member of the Sonoma County After School Network and serves in two state-wide programs through the California Department of Education: California After School Demonstration Program and the After School Inclusion Project. She lives in the quaint town of Windsor with her husband of 17 years , two brilliant teen daughters, a loyal old dog named "Dude", a cat, bearded dragon and two fish. She is a proud Puerto Rican - Italian, strongly influenced by women like Maya Angelou, Sonja Sotomayor, Pema Chodron and her two moms!