PUC Schools / About / Management Team

Adriana Abich dedicated her career to providing quality education to all students. She is a graduate of Occidental College where she studied English and Comparative Literary Studies. She also completed her credential in Occidental's post graduate program. After leaving Occidental, Ms. Abich worked in several districts teaching students in grades 2 through 5. Through this experience , she developed a passion for improving literacy instruction for all students. This motivated Ms. Abich to take on a position as a Literacy Coach in L.A.U.S.D. She served as a Coach for the teachers in a large elementary school for 4 years. At the same time Ms. Abich continued her education at California State University, Northridge, where she graduated with a Master's degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. In addition to earning her degree, Ms. Abich also completed her Administrative Services. Last year, she was pleased to work as Assistant Principal of Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy. This year, Ms. Abich will continue at Nueva Esperanza as the Principal. She is excited to partner with teachers, students, and parents in providing quality education to the children in the city of San Fernando.

Dr. Ron Alatorre joined PUC schools in 2009 and currently serves as principal. He has more than 27 years of experience in education and has served as a dynamic leader in educational institutions throughout California, including three high-performing high schools. Under his leadership, his schools have earned six-year WASC accreditations, California Distinguished School recognitions (3) and were ranked among Newsweek's top 500 high schools.

Dr. Alatorre has been involved with the Association of California School Administrators, Council on Language and Minority Student Affairs, Coalition of Essential Schools, Association of Mexican American Educators, California Association of Directors of Activities, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the California Association of Bilingual Educators. He has also served on several state-wide committees assisting in the development of assessments for high school students.

Prior to his returning to Southern California, Alatorre served as principal of Mills High School in the San Mateo Union High School District, leading the school to six-year WASC accreditation and top CST scores in the county. Additionally, he has served as director of vocal music, athletic coach, activities director and teacher, and musical and choral director at several high schools throughout California. Dr. Alatorre has served as both an arts and academic educator, teaching courses in fine arts, music and English. Recently he has taught graduate courses in the Masters programs at Cal State University, Long Beach and Argosy University. Since 1992, Dr. Alatorre has served as chairman of many WASC Accreditation Teams and WASC Revisit Committees.

He holds a doctoral degree in education from the University of Southern California; a master's degree in educational administration from California State University, Fullerton; a professional administrative credential from California State University, San Jose; and a bachelor's degree in music from University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Alatorre has continued his professional development through additional studies at Stanford and Harvard.

With a passion for improving the educational opportunities for at-risk students, Ingrid Anderson relocated from Seattle to Los Angeles in 2001 to pursue her dream. Fortuitously, she crossed paths with Dr. Ref Rodriguez and was offered her first teaching position at CALS Charter Middle School in its second year of existence. At CALS, she taught humanities and reading for six years, contributed to the development of the mission of the school, and later witnessed the creation of the PUC organization. In 2007, she became the assistant principal and instructional leader of Community Charter Middle School is now Principal. Education has played an important role in Ingrid's personal and professional development. She holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Boston University where she played Division 1 softball on an athletic and academic scholarship. Upon returning to the Pacific Northwest, she attended graduate school at Seattle University to receive a degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Then in 2005, she completed a master's degree in Collaborative Educational Leadership from Fielding University within a cohort of several other PUC colleagues. One major goal for Ingrid is that she wants to continually reflect on best practices to build stronger relationships between the school and its families and help improve the opportunities for her students.

Jonathan Erickson has been dedicated to the advancement of education since he graduated from Pomona College with BA in Mathematics in 2003. During his second year of teaching at Animo Leadership Charter High School he became Mathematics Department Chair, and collaborated with Professor Kathy Clemmer at Loyola Marymount University in designing a professional development program, which manifested into a center at LMU called CMAST (Center for Math and Science Teaching). This challenging, early experience made Mr. Erickson realize that focusing on improving his and other math teachers' instruction, through research and innovation in teaching practices, was both motivating and inspiring.

Mr. Erickson earned his Masters in Education from LMU in 2006. Since then, he has worked extensively in the field, both in and out of the classroom. Highlights include working for the state as a reviewer of the California State High School Exit Exam, being a faculty advisor for Teach for America, and studying bats in Malaysia through an Earthwatch research fellowship. One of Mr. Erickson's main areas of interest is assessment design, where he has worked as an independent consultant for several clients.

Outside the field of Education, Mr. Erickson has been actively engaged with various communities. He has volunteered with Human Rights Watch, served on a Los Angeles Park Advisory Board, and has worked with deans at Pomona College to increase diversity in their applicant pool.

Mr. Erickson is honored to open Lakeview Charter High School with PUC. He was drawn to team at PUC because of their tireless focus on developing administrators and teachers to fullest potential, so that they in turn are capable of assisting all students to succeed in college and beyond. Mr. Erickson firmly believes that creativity and critical thinking are at the heart of all great learning experiences, and looks forward to creating a school where students will flourish in such a learning environment.

Manuel Ponce was born in Panorama City and raised in Sylmar by his parents, both of whom are educators. His upbringing instilled in him the importance of education as a mechanism for change and equality for all people. At an early age Manuel began working with youth in the community by volunteering at the local recreation center as an athletic coach. Upon graduating from Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, he began working in education as a teacher's assistant and was named the aquatics administrator for Alemany High School's Water Polo and Swim teams. Manuel joined PUC as a science teacher at Lakeview, after teaching for six years at a small, private elementary school in San Fernando. Manuel received an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts from Los Angeles Mission College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Northridge. He was a Fellow in the Charter School Leadership Academy at Loyola Marymount University where he earned a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership with a certificate in Charter School Leadership and Special Education Administration. Manuel is currently completing coursework at LMU for a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice. In 2010, Manuel was named Student of the Year for the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. He is happily married and the proud father of two beautiful sons.

Connie Rivas received a Bachelor or Arts degree in history from California State University, Northridge and later received a Master of Science in Special Education from National University. She entered the classroom as a paraprofessional working with disabled students. Through this experience she worked closely with students, parents, teachers and administrators to create optimal learning environments for all students. Her experience as a special educator allowed her to gain a solid understanding of student dynamics, school culture, instruction, and the importance of parent engagement. After several years of working in a traditional public school she was introduced to the charter school movement, which greatly appealed to her teaching philosophy and her deep rooted commitment to uplifting students, families, and communities through education. Her charter school experience began in Pacoima where she served as a lead teacher and special education coordinator. Connie is currently fulfilling a life-long dream of serving students from North East Los Angeles as the principal of CALS Early College High School and is a testament to her students that hard work, commitment, and passion make dreams come true.

Sascha Robinett is the founding principal of Milagro Charter School, providing students with both a bilingual and arts integrated education. Prior to starting the school she worked for a national arts-integrated school reform initiative, Different Ways of Knowing, designing and facilitating professional development workshops and creating school programs in arts integration, literacy, teacher leadership, standards-based instruction, and data-driven decision making and receiving intense training from professional artists and arts educators in visual arts, drama, dance, and music. During her classroom teaching experience - in grades three through twelve - she worked with the Amory Center for the Arts in Pasadena to create and implement an arts-integrated sixth grade curriculum program and wrote a school-wide grant (Arts In The Schools) to bring music education from kindergarten through sixth grade to her school. She holds both a clear multiple subject/CLAD credential and a preliminary administration credential. She received her B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Santa Barbara and her M.A. in Educational Leadership from California State University, Los Angeles.

Jacqueline Duvivier Castillo recently joined PUC Schools as the Director of Business and Development Services and will be working closely with its CEO and the team to build an efficient and effective delivery of operational services to its own network of schools and others externally as well. Formally the Director of Educational Partnerships at the National Council of La Raza's Los Angeles, California office, she coordinated all regional education endeavors including the Charter School Development Initiative (CSDI), the Early College Project (ECP), and training and technical assistance for schools, affiliates, and nonprofit organizations in California that work with NCLR. She has an extensive background studying and working in education and administration in North, Central, and South America. She has taught over 10 years in preschool, elementary, and middle school both in and outside of the U.S., and has served in administrative leadership posts both in and out of the education field. As a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American Economics and Spanish Language as well as a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Curriculum Development from the College of New Rochelle in New York. She is the daughter of immigrants and is happily married with twin daughters who attend a PUC school.

Dr. Elliot has been dedicated to public school reform since 1986 when she first became a teacher in Pacoima, California. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology, a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, an Administrative Credential, a Master's degree in Educational Administration and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Change. 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 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 Dr. Elliot subsequently founded three more schools to serve the same geographic area. Dr. 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) which now has a total of 12 schools. In addition to serving as CEO of PUC, Dr. Elliot currently serves as an elected representative to the California Charter Schools Association Membership Council and also serves on the Association's 501C4 board. In addition, she serves on the board of the Multicultural Learning Center, a charter school in Canoga Park, California. Dr. Elliot is also an adjunct professor in the Education Department at Loyola Marymount University.

Kelly Montes De Oca brings a wealth of academic and curriculum development experience to PUC. Prior to joining the PUC team, Kelly worked as an instructional coach and curriculum designer with the Galef Institute in Los Angeles. Her work there included designing and implementing an ongoing school reform program for elementary and middle schools based on The Galef Institute model. This work included designing and delivering professional development workshops, mentoring teachers, modeling lessons, and tracking the progress of school improvement. Kelly received her BA in General Studies of Education as well as California Preliminary Credential from the School of Education at the University of Southern California. She got her MA in Educational Technology as well as California Clear Credential from the Graduate School of Education at Azusa Pacifica University. She leads a team of professionals at PUC that collaboratively develop and deliver professional development to school leaders, teachers and all staff in the network.

Prior to his experience as a middle school principal, Nik Orlando has had extensive experience connecting the art community to the school community with city murals created by students at a Garden Park, as well as city art shows with student work included at Long Beach Art Walks and various performances. His experience also includes personal community based art experiences with stage and installation work with TEEN Magazine Cover, Long Beach City Halloween Event, California State University, Long Beach and the Festival of the Five Senses, The Perfect Circus, sponsoring foster children with musical instruments and grass roots community art collectives creating art/performance shows for the city. His teaching experience includes history, English, and journalism instruction for grades six through eight at CALS Charter Middle School, as well as history, English, and art instruction for grades six through eight at Constellation Community Middle School in Long Beach. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Multiple Subject CLAD Clear Teaching Credential from California State University, Long Beach and a Master of Arts in Collaborative Educational Leadership from Fielding Graduate University.

Malena Orozco-Otero is the Director of Human Resources for PUC Schools and is responsible for assuring that the network is compliant with Federal and State labor laws, for the staff and faculty recruiting process, for development and implementation of new programs, and employee retention. Prior to joining PUC Schools, Malena worked for several divisions of the Walt Disney Company in the Human Resources department. The industries ranged from gaming, toy design and retail. During the last ten months of her tenure Malena worked with the Disney Stores as they were acquired by The Children's Place, Inc. In that capacity she was the Human Resources Manager for 350 stores in 18 states. Her experience includes recruiting human resources generalist for various companies such Olsten Staffing Service and McKesson Water Products (Sparkletts). Malena has a BA degree in Spanish from California State University Los Angeles and completed several certificate programs in the Human Resources field.

Kaye Ragland began her tenure at Partnerships to Uplift Communities in 2004 as a founding teacher at Milagro Charter School, in the role of Inclusion Specialist. She holds a BFA and an MFA in Dance from the University of Utah, an MA in Marriage, Child, Family Counseling from Pacific Oaks College, and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Change from the Fielding Graduate University. In addition, she holds an Education Specialist Credential, is a licensed therapist, and is certified as a professional level educational therapist. As Director of Inclusion and Special Education, Kaye supports resource specialist teachers, general education teachers, administrators, students and families in their efforts to create a truly inclusive learning community where all students, including those with special needs, can be successful and thrive.

Prior to joining PUC, Kaye spent her more than 35 years in education as a principal, assistant principal, school counselor, resource specialist, curriculum coordinator, and teacher. She has worked in public, private, non-public schools, and non-public agencies serving students aged birth to college level. She has been active in many community organizations involved with the education of children with special needs and with arts education. In addition to working with students with special needs, Kaye spent many years as a professional dancer and choreographer. She is happily married to her first love and has four adult children, and multiple dogs, and cats. Throughout her career, from her first student with special needs in a preschool class in 1968 to her present work, Kaye’s passion has been ensuring equal access to high quality education for all students with and without disabilities. She believes that, through collaboration, communication, understanding, and high expectations, all students can achieve success in school and beyond.

Dr. Ref Rodriguez is President and CEO of Partners for Developing Futures (Partners). Partners is a social venture investment fund that primarily invests in high-potential, early-stage minority-led charter schools and charter school networks that serve underserved students. Partners' mission is to efficiently identify, recruit, and support leaders of color in creating and growing high-quality charter schools and charter school networks.

Prior to joining Partners, Ref was Co-Chief Executive Officer of Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC), a charter school management organization serving communities in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and Northeast Los Angeles. During his tenure, PUC developed 10 schools and became a well-regarded charter management organization in California. Ref's original inspiration for starting a charter school was to offer high quality learning experiences for youth in the predominantly Latino working class community where he grew up. His outrage for being considered "fortunate" for having graduated from college because of his socio-economic background is what drives him to create and support schools where college graduation is an expectation for all. Before joining the charter schools movement, Ref worked in the business sector and as a teacher and administrator in Catholic parochial schools. He is the first of five children of Mexican immigrants to graduate from college. Ref is an advocate for the health and welfare of vulnerable populations. He has been appointed to boards and commissions that focus on serving those most in need. Ref served on the Board of the California Charter Schools Association for four years during a critical stage in the organization’s foundation and growth. He was appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as a commissioner to the Rent Adjustment Commission for the City of Los Angeles where he served a two year term. In 2007, Ref was elected by the residents of Glassell Park to the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council. He currently serves on the Boards of Partnerships to Uplift Communities, Green Dot Public Schools, and the Alliance for a Better Community.

Ref is adjunct professor in the School of Education at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University where we helped develop a Master's and Administrative Credential Program for aspiring leaders in Charter Schools. He is a fellow of the Aspen Institute-NewSchools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education, Class of 2007. He was selected to German Marshall Fund's Marshall Memorial Fellowship Program, Class of 2011. Ref holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara.

Lori Rosales is the principal of Triumph Charter High School. Prior to becoming principal, she served as lead and model teacher at Aspire Public School in South/East Los Angeles. Mrs. Rosales ability to teach is not just for the students as she has spent the majority of her career training adults. She has trained teachers in classroom management, teaching techniques, and curriculum development, as well as facilitated workshops for both experienced teachers and university students in the teaching credential program. She has taught many grade levels and has been a consult for other schools in order to improve their programs. Mrs. Rosales received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, her Credential in Education from Cal State Los Angeles and is currently getting her Masters of Education and Administration Credential from Loyola Marymount University. Mrs. Rosales lives with her wonderful husband and two dogs in Los Angeles.

Christine Sartiaguda is co-founder of the Clinical Counseling Program at PUC Schools. This program serves as a clinical training site for graduate students obtaining a degree in clinical counseling, marital and family therapy, art therapy and/or school counseling. The Clinical Counseling Program provides full mental health services to all PUC students and families. Christine is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and Registered Art Therapist who clinically supervises Marital and Family Therapy Trainees/Interns as well as Art Therapy Interns. She brings over 12 years of clinical experience, having obtained a B.A. in Psychology, followed by her M.A. in Marital and Family Therapy specializing in Art Therapy, both degrees from Loyola Marymount University. Prior to coming to PUC, Christine was Director of Training, Program Director of a Day Program, Senior Therapist and Group Home Therapist at G.L.A.S.S. In addition to having worked in residential care, Christine has worked at hospitals, out-patient clinics, schools and has been a guest speaker at various clinical conferences. Christine has also been a part of academia while being invited to speak at Loyola Marymount University and CSUN as well as being an associate professor at Phillips Graduate Institute. As Director of Clinical Services, Christine oversees the Clinical Counseling Program and all other clinical services within PUC as well as provides individual and group supervision to the clinical counseling trainees/interns.

After studying politics at UC Santa Cruz, Mara Simmons returned to Los Angeles, her home city to discover the wonders of teaching. After serving as a substitute teacher for Inglewood School district she decided to pursue a full time teaching position. Pasadena Unified School District hired her to teach middle school math/science at Wilson Middle School. After three years, she returned to her alma mater, 32nd Arts Magnet in LAUSD to teach math/science and humanities. While teaching, she worked on her teaching credential at Cal State Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Due to the collaborative nature of 32nd St. she was inspired to pursue administration by the site principal. While finishing up a masters degree at CSUDH in education with an emphasis in curriculum, she completed the necessary course work for her administrative credential. She came to Lennox as the middle school assistant principal for curriculum in 1997. Mara moved to the high school level in 2001 as principal of Animo Leadership Charter High School while working on her doctoral degree at Claremont University. After graduating the first Animo class in 2004 with 85% graduation rate and 66% four year college acceptance rate, she worked as Vice President of Education for Green Dot Public Schools and then moved on to consult with Green Dot on PowerSchool. She also worked with PUC as a consultant focusing efforts to write the state teacher credentialing application with Fielding Graduate University. After teaching for a year at CALS Early College High School, she served as the Instructional Leader of this school site for the last four years. During this time she completed her PhD from Claremont Graduate University.

Edward Vandenberg was the founding principal of Lakeview Charter Academy and has been with PUC Schools since 2001. Prior to his work in education, he earned his MFA in Painting from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA in Painting from the University of the Arts. Edward also attended and excelled in the arts at the prestigious Central High School in Philadelphia, PA. Upon his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania he embarked on a career as a muralist and traveled the world designing, creating, and managing large private projects. Seeking a return to education he began to teach art part time at Community Charter Middle School. Due to his dedication to students, commitment to learning, and rich life experience, in a very short period of time Edward ascended to the role of principal. After graduating the first class of students from Lakeview Edward took on the challenge of coaching the leaders in the PUC Valley Schools. During the past seven years he has had the pleasure of working with and learning from top notch educators, charter school developers, committed parents and most importantly, the wonderful PUC students.

Ms. Nancy O. Villagomez is the new principal for CALS Charter Middle School. Ms. Villagomez was one of the members of the original design team who came together eleven years ago to dream about a school to serve the students of Northeast Los Angeles. She served on the board of the CALS Charter Middle School non-profit for four years prior to the creation of PUC Schools. Ms. Villagomez brings a wealth of knowledge and experience both as a teacher and administrator. Prior to joining us she was a teacher and a department chair at Crescenta Valley High School. The first in her family to graduate from college, Ms. Villagomez earned both a Bachelor and Master’s degree from Occidental College. She holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Cal State Northridge and is currently finishing her studies in the Educational Leadership doctoral program at the University of Southern California. She further holds a single subject teaching credential in Spanish and a preliminary administrative services credential.

Dr. Brian P. Wagner joined PUC schools in 2009 and currently serves as principal of Community Charter Early College High School. His experience in education ranges from the classroom to the administrative office. Nine years in the classroom were split between teaching high school social science and the devotion of working with students with special needs. He has also worked at the adult school level working in the instruction of English as a second language. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Wagner has worked as a site administrator at the elementary, middle , and high school levels and has served on many district level and community committees including the Committee on Equity in Education, the Superintendent's Advisory Committee, and the Mayor's Youth Services Committee. This span of over 23 years of experience in education has allowed him to serve his communities in creative and supportive ways.

Dr. Wagner has been involved with the Association of California School Administrators, Council for Exceptional Children, National Association of Secondary School Principals, California Association of Peer Programs, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the National Council for the Social Sciences. He is a certified member of Kappa Delta Pi, the national education honor society. Dr. Wagner was honored as a presenter at the American Education Research Association, National Conference. In addition, Dr. Wagner has served as PTA Council member, chairperson of a site emergency disaster preparedness team, and coached high school level basketball, volleyball, and softball.

Prior to his joining the PUC administrative team, Dr. Wagner served as a site administrator in the Whittier and La Puente areas. His administration supported the recognition of several schools as AVID National Demonstration Sites. He holds a doctoral degree in education from the University of La Verne in Organizational Leadership; a master's degree in Educational Administration from California State University, Los Angeles, and a bachelor's degree in History Education from Heidelberg University in Ohio, graduating cum laude in both his bachelor's and master's degrees. Dr. Wagner firmly believes in a child centered approach to education that is committed to forming a partnership between the school and family for the success of the student.

Mr. Yancsurak brings 17 years of professional experience to PUC Schools, working in various industries including retail management, financial services, internet marketing, and management consulting. His teaching experience includes working as a Physics/Algebra teacher at an urban private all boys high school, as an Algebra/Geometry teacher at a 5000 student LAUSD high school, and as an Algebra teacher for another PUC School, CALS Early College High School. After a successful teaching career, Mr. Yancsurak was given the opportunity to serve as Assistant Principal at Triumph Charter Academy, a new PUC school that opened in 2007 in San Fernando. After the first year, Mr. Yancsurak was promoted to Principal in 2008. Triumph Charter has shown a 150+ point gain in API in its first 3 years in existence. With this wave of momentum, Mr. Yancsurak is dedicated to leading his team to its first 800+ API score this year.