Richard Alonzo

Richard A. Alonzo is the former Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Local District 4 Superintendent. For the past 25 years, Mr. Alonzo established a formidable reputation as a leader in: school reform, small schools, small learning communities, parent engagement, and the systemic improvement in teaching and learning for EL students. Mr. Alonzo was instrumental in LAUSD’s move to design new secondary schools and convert comprehensive high school buildings into smaller and more personalized learning environments. He supported educational reform including the establishment of small learning communities, the Belmont Zone of Choice and Pilot schools in Local District 4.

Jonathan Eddison, Board Chair

Mr. Eddison is the board chair of the Center and formerly a broadly experienced and sophisticated business and transactional lawyer. As an attorney, Mr. Eddison has served at the SEC, was General Counsel of small public companies, the principal business lawyer at large private companies and worked as Of Counsel at two national law firms. Mr. Eddison has his JD cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, his MA in Eastern Asian Studies from the University of Michigan and a BA cum laude from Wesleyan University. In 1993 Mr. Eddison received the Wiley E. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Services given by the State Bar of California in honor for his extensive pro bono work.

Nancy Epstein, Treasurer

Ms. Epstein received her B.S. in Business Administration, Accounting from California State University, Northridge in 1979, and her license as a California CPA in 1981. She completed her Masters in Business Taxation from Golden Gate University in 1986. Having spent ten years at a national CPA firm, two years as an investment banker and three years in the mutual fund industry, Ms. Epstein has spent the last seventeen years running her own financial consulting practice which includes serving as Vice President/CFO to Kornwasser Shopping Center Properties, LLC , CCA Acquisition Company, LLC and Sycamore Urban Properties, LLC.  She has served as project manager to independent schools for new campus projects, specializes in construction accounting and real estate transactions.

Rosamaria Figueroa-Calderon

Rosamaria Figueroa-Calderon is the principal of Civitas School of Leadership, one of the first autonomous Belmont Pilot schools that opened in fall 2007 in downtown Los Angeles. Before her tenure at Civitas, she was assistant principal at King Middle School, at Los Angeles Academy Middle School where she helped develop the plan for small learning communities and at Southeast Middle School. Ms. Figueroa-Calderon began her professional career at 92^nd St Elementary School. She obtained her B.A. in Spanish Literature and Mexican American Studies and her M.A. in Education Counseling Option along with her pupil services credential, multiple subject credential, single subject credential, bilingual cross cultural and administrative service credential all from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

Jean E. Gold

Ms. Gold received undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and her J.D. from UCLA Law School. After practicing law for several years, Ms. Gold retired in order to raise her family. During the time, Ms. Gold was involved in civic and charitable activities. She served as a Board Member for the Upper Santa Monica Canyon Homeowners Association and as an elected representative on the Pacific Palisades Community Council. Ms. Gold served on the Board of the UCLA Art Council and acted as Chairman of the Concern Foundation for Cancer Research. She volunteered for three years at People Assisting the Homeless doing intake, counseling and tutoring. Ms. Gold is passionately interested in progressive education and education reform.

Karen Hunter Quartz

Dr. Quartz is the Director of Research for Center X, the home of UCLA’s professional credentialing and advancement programs for K-12 educators, and for the UCLA Community School, a K-12 Pilot school that she helped open in 2009 on LAUSD’s RFK Community Schools campus. After receiving her Ph.D. from UCLA in 1994, Quartz was Assistant Research Scientist at UCSD’s Center for Research in Educational Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence. From 1999 to 2006, she led the UCLA Longitudinal Study of Urban Educators as part of UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access. Dr. Quartz’s research and writing focus on the creation of democratic school communities as well as the struggle to recruit and retain good urban teachers. Dr. Quartz is a founding director of the Los Angeles Small Schools Center.

Dr. Olivia Lynch is an educational consultant to schools, districts and organizations throughout California and the United States. She is also Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership at Patten University. Previously, Dr. Lynch served Director of Practice for Education Trust West and Director of Professional Learning at the School Redesign Network at Stanford University, School of Education. She founded the Partnership School, a public elementary school and was founding principal of the School for Academic and Athletic Excellence (SAAE), a middle school both in New York City. She was the founding Director of Bronx New Century High Schools, an initiative that produced fifty new small high schools in the Bronx, NY and served as Local Superintendent. Dr. Lynch received her B.A. from New York University, a M.A. from Adelphi University, and her Ed.D. from Mills College. She was a Revson Fellow at Columbia University.