John A. Roach, Ed.D, Executive Director
Dr. Roach is the Executive Director of School Employers Association of California.
John is the former Executive Director of the National Association of School Superintendents. He served 14 years as a District Superintendent; six in Charter Oak Unified and eight in Carlsbad Unified.
Dr. Roach is a professor at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California where he teaches courses in Leadership, Governance, Instructional Leadership and Accountability.
Since retiring from Carlsbad in 2012 John has coached Superintendents, served as Interim Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, served as an expert witness, led Superintendent searches and served as a consultant to several educational solution providers.
Prior to serving as Superintendent, he was an elementary teacher, elementary, middle and high school administrator, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development, Assistant Superintendent of Ed. Services, Human Resources, and Business Services. In addition to those roles he served as the lead negotiator in Brea-Olinda, East Whittier, Charter Oak and Carlsbad. In retirement he has been at the table in Rowland, Capistrano and Hollister.
He completed his doctorate at USC where his research focused on Trust and Collective Bargaining. He has a BA and an MA from LMU.
If he isn’t here in the SEAC office, when you reach him on his cell, he is either playing mediocre golf, walking at the beach, reading, or watching a game.
Louise K. Taylor, Assistant Executive Director: Professional Development
Dr. Taylor joined SEAC as Assistant Executive Director for Programs and Training in 2013. She has dedicated many years to California public schools — 18 years as Superintendent of Schools (Monrovia USD), eight years as a human resources administrator, and prior years as coordinator of special education and pupil services, facilitator of gifted programs and staff development, psychologist, and teacher. Before entering education, she worked as a computer programmer. During her educational career, Dr. Taylor was active in professional organizations, serving as an Executive Board Member and periodic president for the ACSA Region XV Superintendents’ Committee, the Foothills Educational Technology Partnership, and the School Employers Association (SEAC). She also served as regional representative to the ACSA State Superintendents Committee. Over a 20-year period, she presented annually at the ACSA Superintendent’s Academy and Personnel Academy, and at the Personnel Institute, the Business Academy, the ACSA “Leading the Leaders” program, and the California School Boards Association Annual Conference. She coordinated the regional ACSA Superintendents Academy for three years. Due to the success of the Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) structure instituted in her school district, Dr. Taylor and representatives of her negotiating teams (management, teachers and classified employees) and Board of Education were invited to present at the National Labor-Management Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Taylor received her Ph.D. from USC, her MA from Loyola University, and her BA from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Dr. Taylor recognizes the importance of employee-employer relations and respectful, productive collective bargaining practices in creating and maintaining a positive, progressive, and effective school district climate that supports student success. Under her guidance, SEAC programs and training equip leaders with the knowledge, skills, and approaches necessary to engender productive school and district climates for the benefit of students.
Roger D. Gallizzi, Consultant, Special Projects
Mr. Gallizzi is the former Superintendent of the Palmdale School District. He serves School Employers Association of California (SEAC) as a Consultant for Special Projects. He has expertise in doing salary studies and other compensation and job description comparisons for SEAC Member Districts. Mr. Gallizzi is also a speaker and trainer for SEAC Programs.
Mark Lowenthal, Consultant, Health Benefits/ACA
Mr. Lowenthal is a senior human resources executive who specializes in benefits administration and in leading organizations to innovative data driven solutions. Mark manages our analytical, actuarial, and implementation teams that are engaged to evaluate and restructure health and Rx benefit offerings.
Mark has worked with of series CA school districts through his association with the School Employers Association of California (SEAC). These efforts have achieved a savings of more than of more than $40 million annually due to RX utilization and plan purchasing improvements.
In addition to more traditional benefit admin/actuarial project management consulting responsibilities, Mark has served as onsite interim management at the VP and Human Resources director levels for a variety of Fortune 500 and large public sector clients.