Speakers

Sharon Balmer Cartagena, Directing Attorney‚ Child‚ Youth & Family Advocacy – Public Counsel

Sharon Balmer Cartagena (she/her) is the Directing Attorney of Public Counsel’s Child Youth & Family Advocacy Project. Growing up in Reading, PA, infamous for being the poorest city in the United States, Sharon saw up close how income equity, housing and school segregation, school-based criminalization, and racial disparities in child welfare devastate generations of children, youth, and families.

Since graduating from law and social work school in 2007, Sharon has represented children, youth, and families on a variety of legal issues, including family law, probate guardianships, access to public benefits, education rights, and other legal issues that destabilize families and push them toward the door of child welfare. Sharon is a 2007 graduate of Fordham University School of Law and a 2006 graduate of Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work.

Kevin Gordon, President and Partner, Capitol Advisors

Widely viewed among the top education advocates in California, Kevin is the President and a founding Partner of Capitol Advisors Group. Kevin was the longtime Executive Director of the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), and previously served as the Chief Lobbyist and Assistant Executive Director of the California School Boards Association (CSBA). He also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Robert T. Matsui and as a legislative advocate for the California Building Industry Association (CBIA). He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. Prior to that, while completing his undergraduate degree in communication studies at University of California, Davis, he was recruited by the IBM Corporation and served three years in its national marketing division for large systems.

Ken Kapphahn, Principal Fiscal & Policy Analyst, California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO)

Visit lao.ca.gov to learn more about the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).

Jamie Nunez, Senior Manager, Outreach & Training Common Sense Media

Jamie Nunez, supports school districts and state education agencies across the country in integrating practical digital literacy skills into classrooms. With over 25 years of experience in education, as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and executive at an education nonprofit, he brings a deep understanding of both the challenges and opportunities that technology presents for students and families.Jamie is a frequent consultant, speaker, and contributor on education technology issues, leading professional learning for educators. He is passionate about simplifying tech use and addressing digital misuses to help schools create engaging learning environments.Jamie has written about tech distractions, has authored a book on post-traumatic stress and its impact on engagement, and recently partnered with OpenAI to create a suite of courses designed to help educators rethink how they use AI. When not working, Jamie can often be found in the cold San Francisco ocean, swimming with his 10-year-old daughter, a wonderful reminder, he says, to “seek playful discomforts” outside of our screens.

Christine Olmstead, Ed.D., Senior Advisor, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE)

Dr. Christine Olmstead is a Senior Advisor for the Secondary School Redesign Pilot at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence through  partnership agreement with the Orange County Department of Education. With over 25 years of experience, she has led large-scale initiatives to improve student achievement, collective efficacy, and continuous improvement.

Dr. Olmstead has played a key role in scaling California’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework, co-developing the state’s Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) guidance, and serving on statewide committees for inclusive schooling and behavioral health.

Dr. Lisa Harshad Patel, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford Children’s Health Executive Director, Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health

Lisa Patel is the Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Executive Committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change. Lisa received her BS in Biology from Stanford University, her Master’s in Environmental Sciences from the Yale School of the Environment, her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and completed her training in pediatrics at UCSF. She is a former Presidential Management Fellow for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Megan Potente, State Director, Decoding Dyslexia CA

Megan has been active in DDCA leadership for over 4 years. She is also a Co-Leader of DDCA’s San Francisco Support Group and serves as DDCA’s Regional Leader for San Francisco/Peninsula Region. Megan is a former 20-year elementary educator with experience as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, literacy coach, special education teacher, and educational therapist in private practice. She has a BA from University of Michigan and MEd from DePaul University. A graduate of University of California Berkeley’s Educational Therapy program, Megan has extensive structured literacy experience, including expertise in the Slingerland Approach. Megan has been featured on KQED and also moderates the California: Science of Reading–What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook group. She has a son, brother, and a nephew with dyslexia.

Mitch Steiger, Legislative Representative, California Federation of Teachers (CFT)

Mitch Steiger is a Legislative Representative for the California Federation of Teachers (CFT). Representing over 120,000 education workers statewide, CFT fights to defend and improve members’ wages, benefits, and working conditions, with an equally determined focus on education quality and student wellbeing. Mitch’s role is to advocate across various worker issues as well as green schools and climate change. Mitch has worked in the labor movement for 26 years, serving as a legislative advocate for various organizations. He is a member of the Field Representatives Union (FRU) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Leib Sutcher, Advisor, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE)

Leib Sutcher is an advisor to the Secondary School Redesign Pilot at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (through a professional services agreement). His work centers on supporting networks engaged in high school redesign and helping the Pilot surface lessons, successes, and implementation barriers that can inform statewide policy, practice, and momentum for lasting systems change. 

Prior to this role, Leib was a high school teacher at Highline Big Picture School in Highline Public Schools and a mathematics teacher at the STEM Academy of Hollywood in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He began his career as a researcher with the Learning Policy Institute (LPI).

Marshall Tuck, CEO, EdVoice

Marshall is CEO of EdVoice and EdVoice Institute, where he has helped advance major statewide literacy policy changes, including universal K–2 screening for reading difficulties and the adoption of K-8 evidence-based reading materials. He previously served as founding CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, opened 10 new charter schools in Los Angeles as President of Green Dot Public Schools, and helped launch the Los Angeles Education Recovery Fund as head of Education Recovery at Great Public Schools Now. A former candidate for State Superintendent who earned 5.2 million votes, Marshall holds degrees from UCLA and Harvard Business School and lives in Los Angeles with his family.

Jeremiah Whitten, Ed.D., Program Specialist, Charter SELPA El Dorado County Office of Education