Capitol Advisors meeting On April 17, 2023.
Pictured from the left are Roxanne Fuentes, John Roach, Catherine Kawaguchi, Mary Ann Dewan, Gudiel Crosthwaite, Julie Mitchell and Louise Taylor.

Dr. Dewan is the County Superintendent for Santa Clara County. She is recognized for her expertise and experience in early learning, data driven decision-making, special education, education reform, change leadership and her commitment to serve community. Dr. Dewan is passionate about diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice. Her leadership is driven by a commitment to ensure that all youth have quality educational opportunities. Dr. Dewan has gained experience through serving as Deputy Superintendent, Chief Schools Officer, Assistant Superintendent, Executive Director, Director of Special Education, principal and teacher. She has served in education for 30 years.

Dr. Kawaguchi has been the Superintendent for the Sulphur Springs Union School District since January of 2015. Prior to being a Superintendent, she served as an Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services in a K-8 District, Principal of a Title I school, Assistant Principal, and was a teacher for 15 years before entering administrative positions in Ventura County.

Dr. Kawaguchi received a Bachelor Degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Masters in Educational Administration from California Lutheran University, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from University of Southern California.

Throughout Dr. Kawaguchi’s career, she has continued to promote a culture of collaboration, support, collegiality among all stakeholders, and is committed to partnering with staff, parents, and community members to enhance and promote excellence for all students. Most recently, Dr. Kawaguchi received the 2019-20 ACSA State Award, Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Administrator Excellence. Dr. Kawaguchi has a passion to bring communities together to ensure that all students are valued, and that academics and social/emotional wellness are a top priority.

Paul Johnson has been a California educator for 31 years and is currently
superintendent of Los Gatos Union School District.
His overall experience includes 17 years as a superintendent in four districts
(South Bay Union, Loomis USD, Mill Valle, Los Gatos), district administrative
work in both urban and rural settings, and elementary and secondary site
administrative work. Paul began his career teaching for the Jurupa School District
in Riverside County in 1987.
He has a B.S. in education from Brigham Young University and M.A. from Azusa
Pacific University.

Dr. Melissa Moore joined the El Segundo Unified School District as superintendent in July 2014. She has a background in employee-employer relations, community and educational foundations and student instruction and innovative practices.

Her professional experiences span 35 years and include service as an Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Principal of middle school and elementary school, Assistant Principal, and Teacher in three different settings. In 2010, Dr. Moore was named the Association of California School Administrators’ (ACSA) State Administrator of the Year for Human Resources. In 2018, Dr. Moore was selected Superintendent of the Year (Region 14) by ACSA. She earned her doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in reading and language arts from California State University, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Redlands.

During her tenure as ESUSD’s superintendent, the district successfully passed a $92M General Obligation Bond Measure to improve school facilities and technology in 2018; and in 2017, established a legacy or endowment funds with $16M of proceeds from the sale of the Imperial Street School property that will provide ongoing annual revenue for technology infrastructure, deferred maintenance and capital outlay projects.

Under her guidance, ESUSD has adopted a new Graduate Profile; received district-wide Project Lead the Way/STEM recognition; been an early adopter of a 1:1 technology initiative for grades TK-12; and achieved the highest graduation rate in the region at 99 percent. ESUSD was selected as a member of the League of Innovative Schools in 2016 and Dr. Moore also joined NCERT in 2020.

She has been recognized for her leadership and community involvement through the serving as an Honorary Commander at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, on the League of Innovative Schools Advisory Committee, USC Dean’s Superintendents Advisory Group, and speaking on women in leadership at various events.

Julie Mitchell, Ed.D. joined the Rowland Unified School District as the Superintendent of Schools on October 1, 2014. After an extensive search process, the Board of Education chose Mitchell for her broad and established instructional leadership roles across all grade levels, strength in collaboration and focus on increasing student learning and achievement.

Dr. Mitchell has 30 years of experience in public education. She has served at all leadership levels -- as an instructional aide, middle and high school teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. A fierce advocate of all students and their learning needs, she advances equity, leadership, community involvement, professionalism, and communication.

Dr. Mitchell has been recognized at the local, regional, and state levels. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science from San Diego State University, a master’s degree in education from the University of La Verne and received her doctorate in administration/management from Pepperdine University. Mitchell is married with three children.

“I’m committed to providing all students with an exceptional educational experience which will assist them with becoming thriving members of an ever-changing global society,” shared Dr. Mitchell.

Lynwood Unified School District Superintendent, Gudiel R. Crosthwaite, has enjoyed more than 25 years in education while teaching, mentoring, and removing barriers to student success. The District’s growth culminated when it was named 2017 AP District of the Year by the College Board for expanding access to AP courses while simultaneously improving AP exam performance. Lynwood Unified was one of only three Districts in the nation – and only one in California – to receive this distinction.

Under Crosthwaite’s leadership and advocacy in 2022, Lynwood Unified received $250 million in state support to rebuild its Lynwood High School Imperial Campus, a seismic victory for the District and community

Crosthwaite began his career in education in 1994 as an eighth-grade teacher and later served as a high school English and English Language Development teacher before becoming an administrator.
Crosthwaite earned an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and after graduating taught middle school English, English language development and social studies. He returned to school to pursue a master’s degree at Harvard and became the executive director of a nonprofit organization that provided educational support to students in need. Crosthwaite holds two master’s degrees: one from California State University, Los Angeles in Educational Administration, and another from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University.

Dr. Hurst became West Contra Costa USD’s 10th permanent superintendent and its first permanent African American superintendent.

Dr. Hurst previously served as the Superintendent of the Othello District in Othello, Washington, since 2016. As Superintendent of the 4,500 student District located about 3 hours southeast of Seattle, Dr. Hurst increased graduation rates by 16 percent from 71 percent to 87 percent and reduced absences by 33 percent.

Prior to leading the Othello School District, Dr. Hurst served as Associate Superintendent of Educational Services in Oceanside Unified School District. While serving as the Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, he supervised the Oceanside Promise’s implementation to ensure all Oceanside students graduated ready for college and career and established the Oceanside Promise Foundation, a 501(c)(3).

Dr. Hurst has 24 years of experience teaching and leading equity in urban, suburban, and rural K-12 districts.

Before his career in education, Dr. Hurst served 12 years in the Marines. His military service includes Maintenance Supervisor at Camp Pendleton (1991–1993), Combat Duty (Desert Storm), Saudi Arabia (1990–1991), Communications Instructor/Supervisor at Camp Pendleton (1988–1990), Drill Instructor, San Diego (1986–1988), and Communications Specialist at Camp Pendleton (1982–1986).

Dr. Hurst earned his Doctorate in Education, K-12 Leadership (Magna Cum Laude), at the University of Southern California in 2011, and his Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration (Magna Cum Laude) in 2008, and his Bachelor of Science, a degree in Mathematics in 1997 at California State University, San Marcos. He also holds an Associate of Arts degree from National University, San Diego.

Dr. Hurst and his wife Crystal have two grown children, a daughter who is a 6th-grade teacher and a son who is a computer scientist.

A public school educator for over 25 years, Dr. Roxane Fuentes has served as an elementary teacher, instructional coach, principal, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, and Interim Superintendent, before becoming the first Latina Superintendent of the Berryessa Union School District in 2017.

As a first generation college student herself, Dr. Fuentes has worked to close the achievement gap by nurturing strong parent and community engagement, providing innovative learning experiences for students, all while promoting a culture of equity, collaboration, and support throughout her career

Dr. Fuentes currently serves as ACSA Region 8 State Board Member. She was also recently appointed to CSBA's Superintendent Advisory Council for 2022-2024. Also, strongly committed to the support and advancement of equity leaders, Dr. Fuentes also serves as the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA) President-Elect. Fuentes was recognized in 2019 as CALSA’s "Honoring Our Own" Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. Fuentes earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Southern California, her master’s degree in History at California State University, Fullerton, a second master’s degree in Education Administration at California State University, Long Beach, and her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern California. She is a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa scholar society.

Dr. Rebeca Andrade has 25 years of public school experience, ranging from classroom teaching to central office administration. Her service also includes leading early education and expanded learning, two systems that provide a human developmental and social emotional focus in PreK-8th grades. Dr. Andrade has presented at various state educational conferences and her academic research focuses on STEM practices, policies, and implementation in all learning ecosystems. She has served on the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA) Board, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 15 Board, USC Alumni Board (San Gabriel Valley Chapter), and on the state's Expanded Learning Division sustainability workgroup. She currently serves on the ACSA Region 10 Board. She mentors a first-generation student at CSUMB through the “Pay It Forward” program and has served as mentor for doctoral students at USC and educational leaders through the CALSA mentoring program.

Dr. Andrade received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California, her master of arts from Loyola Marymount University, and her doctorate of education in educational leadership from USC.