General Session - Closing Plenary
- Student Performance: Rocklin Academy Family of Schools
- Awards: The following awards will be announced during this session: Hart Vision Equity & Innovation Schools of the Year PUC Schools, Hart Vision Equity & Innovation Schools of the Year Navigator Schools; Hart Vision Elected Officials of the Year: Joseph DiSalvo and Grace Mah, and Hart Vision Authorizer of the Year Barbara Nemko.
- Panel: Legacy of Leadership: The Trailblazing Founders of California Charter Schools
Description: Meet the OG! Charter leaders from the beginnings of the California Charter Schools movement were tenacious, innovative, and did not take no for an answer. Their daily mantra was act now, ask for forgiveness later. They stood up in Sacramento, spoke loudly in the boardroom (well past the buzzer), and laid the groundwork for charter schools today. Laugh, learn and be inspired by their stories and buoyed to continue the fight for opportunity and access to great public schools for the next generation of students to come. - Panelists & Moderator: Dr. Yvonne Chan, Mr. Alton B. Nelson, Jr., Dr. Paul Keefer, Myrna Castrejón
- Keynote: Erica Alfaro, Harvesting Dreams: Resilience and Opportunity—My Journey as a Charter School Alumna
Presented by
CEO
Making Waves Academy
Alton B. Nelson, Jr. is the chief executive officer of Making Waves Academy (Richmond, CA) and a former founder and school leader of S.A.C. Prep (Sacramento, CA) - both public charter schools. Between 1999 and 2003, Alton worked in the Chicago area at Northwestern University’s office of development and as an associate at the Chicago Public Education Fund where he managed a portfolio of alternative teacher credentialing programs. Before graduate school, Alton was a teacher, coach, and administrator at The Branson School (in Ross, CA). While at Branson, Alton was a two-time recipient of the Mt. Tamalpais Cup teacher award and the Klingenstein Summer Fellowship through Teachers College Columbia University. Before Branson, Alton worked as a Project YES intern at the East Bay Conservation Corps in Oakland, CA. Alton holds a BA degree in history from UCLA and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.
Co-Founder
Pacific Charter Institute
Dr. Paul Keefer bridges the business and educational worlds through his vast experiences in both. Dr. Keefer is co-founder of Pacific Charter Institute where he applies both current 21st century skills will the foundations that he learned at UPS. In addition to leading Pacific Charter Institute as the executive director Dr. Keefer was elected to the Sacramento County School Board of Education in June of 2018 for a four-year term representing Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, College Glen, Antelope, North Highlands, and Sacramento (Area 3). Dr. Keefer was reelected in 2022.
As a charter school leader, Dr. Keefer is able to couple take the experiences from UPS and dealings with Fortune 500 companies and apply them systematically to students in public education that are continually left behind. Dr. Keefer co-founded Pacific Charter Institute in 2005 and works with a team supporting four charter schools including Rio Valley Charter School, Heritage Peak Charter School, Sutter Peak Charter Academy, and Valley View Charter Prep. In 2022 Pacific Charter Institute launched its first site-based school, New Pacific School Roseville, and will launch New Pacific School Rancho Cordova in 2023. The five schools serve over 3,500 students collectively in 16 different counties with revenues of over $54 million dollars and 300 employees. Much like the varying needs of customers at UPS Dr. Keefer works with his team to creates systems to effectively manage an organization that extends across Northern California.
Board Member
Los Angeles County Board of Education
Yvonne Chan, Ed.D., is the founding Principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles. She has pushed the limits of education and social innovation for more than 50 years as a school leader, policymaker, and the founder of the first conversion charter school in the nation that now serves 3,300 low-income students (PK-12).
Her efforts turned the once failing public school into a community-based learning center and the high-poverty neighborhood into an educational and economic corridor. As a result, the school received the California Distinguish School and the National Blue Ribbon School Award recognitions. She is determined to turn risks into opportunities through her tenacity and forward-thinking skills to do the impossible.
Dr. Chan earned a doctorate in education from UCLA, a Master of Arts in Special Education from California State University, Northridge, a Bachelor of Arts in World Languages from UCLA, and a post-doctoral in Computer Science from UCLA. In addition, she has eight teaching and service credentials and the ability to communicate in four world languages.
Dr. Chan served as a teacher and an administrator at the Los Angeles Unified School District for 20 years. While serving as the Principal of Vaughn, she was also an adjunct professor at California State University, Northridge, and UCLA. In addition, Dr. Chan was a member of the California State Board of Education, a Commissioner of the City of Los Angeles, and is a current LA County Commissioner for Public Social Services and Trustee for the LA County Board of Education.
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