students of every age. She has received a number of administrative excellence awards, has been named Woman of the Year and Educator of the Year by several civic and professional organizations, was named California Professor of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators in 2002, and, in 2007, received the California Charter Schools Association Hart Vision Award as California Volunteer of the Year.
Dr. Adams' passion is education - teaching and learning - a lifelong commitment reaffirmed by her license plate which reads "Love for Learning".
Now, semi-retired, Dr. Adams devotes much of her time to University Charter Schools as founder, Board member, and chair of the schools' capital campaign for constructing a permanent PreK-8 facility on the CSU Channel Islands campus. She enjoys the opportunities to work in a variety of school, district, and non-profit settings afforded by her education and management consulting firm, The Adams Group, as well as both professional and personal international travel with husband and retired English teacher, Ron.
Dr. Adams continues her high level of support and dedication to the vision and mission of PUC schools and applauds the extraordinarily creative and productive energy and tireless efforts of Co-CEO’s, Jacqueline Elliot and Ref Rodriguez on behalf of children.
John D. Biroc, Ph.D.
Dr. Biroc received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Southern California. Currently, Dr. Biroc is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, CA. He also has a Private Coaching/Therapy Practice in Encino, CA.
Ed A. Palmer
Senior Vice President, Industrial Services Group at Grubb & Ellis
Ed Palmer has been associated with the Grubb & Ellis Company since 1978 where he primarily has been involved in the sale and leasing of major industrial/commercial type properties in Los Angeles and East San Fernando Valley. He is currently the Senior Vice President of the Industrial Services Group at Grubb & Ellis. Mr. Palmer is a long-standing member of the America Industrial Real Estate Associate, and Los Angeles Board of Realtors. Mr. Palmer attended Arizona State University where he served as a page at the Arizona State House of Representatives.
Steve Pearlman
Steve Pearlman was named President, Class IV Productions in June 2004, following a four-year term as Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Television. In its first year, Class IV, an independent production company based at Warner Bros, produced three drama pilots and received series orders for two, "Reunion," for FBC and "Related" for The WB. Pearlman serves as Executive Producer on both. He also served as Executive Producer on the short-lived CBS series, "Dr. Vegas," starring Rob Lowe.
Before leaving the studio, Pearlman was responsible for all drama, comedy and alternative series development. During his tenure, Warner Bros. became the top supplier in network television, securing orders for a number of breakout shows, including "Cold Case," "The O.C.," "Nip/Tuck" and "Two and a Half Men."
In 1990, Pearlman was promoted to Vice-President, Network Research, before taking on the added duty of overseeing the Current Programming department as Vice President, Current Programs, in 1992. His responsibilities included day-to-day creative management of all network series, including the award-winning and highly acclaimed dramas "ER," "I'll Fly Away," and "Homefront" and the popular comedies "Friends," "Murphy Brown" and "The Drew Carey Show." In August 1993, he received another promotion, to Senior Vice President, Current Programs. He assumed responsibility for Drama Development in 1997. During his tenure the studio added "Smallville," "The West Wing," "The Gilmore Girls," and "Without a Trace" to its roster of successful dramas.
Pearlman lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two boys. His love of the outdoors and river rafting inspired the name of the production company, Class IV.
Gabriel Sandoval
Deputy Legal Counsel
Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
A graduate of Stanford University and Columbia University School of Law, Mr. Sandoval currently serves as Deputy Legal Counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Mr. Sandoval's commitment to public and community service is neither newfound nor short-lived. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Sandoval has served as a federal law clerk to then U.S. District Judge Carlos Moreno, Special Assistant to the California Director for Community and Intergovernmental Affairs, Special Counsel to the California Secretary of Legal Affairs, and Community Affairs Coordinatorfor the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). While serving as an associate at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Mr. Sandoval continued to contribute to the community by providing pro bono legal services in connection with a Voting Rights Act matter filed on behalf of Latinos.
As the son of Mexican immigrants who was raised in Northeast Los Angeles, Mr. Sandoval is committed to the mission of PUC--ensuring that all children receive a quality education that prepares them for the demands of the 21st Century and sets them on a path towards fulfilling their aspirations. Mr. Sandoval is a 2007 American Marshall Memorial Fellow and currently serves on the Los Angeles County Commission for Public Social Services.
Julie Mikuta
Partner
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Julie Mikuta is a Partner in NewSchools Venture Fund 's West Coast office, where she focuses on investment strategy, human capital and management assistance to the firm's portfolio ventures.
Prior to joining NewSchools, Julie was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at EdBuild. Previously, she led trainings for school board and superintendent-teams of large urban districts at the Center for Reform of School Systems, through an initiative supported by The Broad Foundation. Julie also served as an elected member of the D.C. Board of Education from 2001 until 2004. During her time
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on the School Board, Julie also worked as Vice President of Alumni Affairs for Teach For America, where she developed programming for the organization's 10,000 alumni. She also helped found Washington DC's SEED Public Charter School, interned at the White House Domestic Policy Council, and served on the DC Public Charter School Board's application review and monitoring teams. Julie began her career in education teaching high school science in New Orleans through Teach For America.
Julie completed her doctorate at Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. She graduated from Georgetown University, where she was captain of the women's basketball team.
Jacqueline Elliot
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
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Ms. Elliot has been dedicated to public school reform since 1986 when she first became a teacher in Pacoima. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology, a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, an Administrative Credential and a Master's degree in Educational Administration. She is currently completing her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Change at Fielding Graduate University. As a former LAUSD employee, Jacqueline Elliot was driven by an intense desire to improve the state of public education. She first became acquainted with the charter school movement in 1994 while serving as a teacher leader at Montague Elementary when she co-authored the school's petition that converted Montague to charter
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status. Dedicated to creating high quality charter schools for the students in Pacoima, she founded Community Charter Middle School (CCMS) in 1999. The school was the first charter middle school to serve students in Los Angeles and was so successful and well received by the community, that Ms. Elliot subsequently founded two more schools to serve the same geographic area. Ms. Elliot began collaborating with Dr. Ref Rodriguez in 1998. Together they have collaborated and supported each other's efforts while co-founding and operating Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC) and a total of seven schools. Ms. Elliot currently serves as an elected representative to the California Charter Schools Association Membership Council.
Ref Rodriguez
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
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Ref Rodriguez is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC Schools), a charter school management organization serving communities in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and Northeast Los Angeles. Ref's original inspiration for starting a charter school was to offer high quality learning experiences for middle school students residing in Cypress Park, the working class community northeast of downtown Los Angeles where he grew up. Prior to venturing into the charter school movement, Ref worked in the business sector and as a teacher and administrator in parochial schools. He is one of five children of Mexican immigrants. He is the first (but not the last) in his
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family to graduate from college.
Ref is the Vice Chair of the Board of the California Charter Schools Association and serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles and the Small School Alliance. In 2005, he was appointed, by the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, as a City Commissioner in the area of affordable housing.
Ref holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He recently began studies on a second doctoral degree as a student in the inaugural class of the Executive Work-Based Learning Program offered jointly by the Wharton School of Business and Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include teacher leadership and charter schools that are closing the achievement gap for Latino students.
Ref is a native Angelino.
