The Governing Board members of the Pivot Charter Schools are volunteers who are committed to enhancing educational opportunities for young people and believe that the Pivot model of blended learning with personalized instruction is the future of education. Board members are leaders in their fields and are passionate about providing better opportunities for all young people regardless of location or circumstance. They believe that the Pivot model of education provides a rigorous yet unique and supportive alternative to traditional schools. They know that the individual attention and support provided at Pivot can change students’ lives.
James R. Lewis
James R. Lewis
Jim Lewis, the founder of the Roads Education Organization Board and current President, has the privilege of serving as City Manager of Atascadero, CA. He is passionate about public service and is committed to building quality and sustainable organizations that serve the public to their best and most efficient ability.
Prior to returning to his hometown of Atascadero to serve as City Manager in July 2023, Jim served for over 10 years as City Manager of Pismo Beach, CA, where he transformed the downtown, invested in placemaking and legacy capital projects such as a new downtown plaza, pier and streetscapes, established the city’s strongest ever financial position, and built an award-winning employee culture. Prior to Pismo Beach, Jim served his first tour in Atascadero for over nine years as the Assistant City Manager and President of the Office of Economic Development. In this role, Jim was responsible for economic development, human resources, labor relations, technology, organizational development, the creation of new revenues and operating efficiencies, and several special projects.
Jim served as President of the League of California Cities City Manager’s Department in 2018 and currently serves on the League of California Cities Board of Directors. He also serves on the California City Management Foundation Board of Trustees and served as President of the Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC) in 2001. Jim is an ICMA credentialed manager (ICMA-CM).
Jim graduated with honors and received a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California and a Master of Public Administration at Syracuse University.
Jim proudly lives in Atascadero and is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Atascadero, Atascadero Bible Church, Atascadero Elks Lodge and Cub Scout Pack 51. He is married with two children who attend school in the Atascadero School District.
Tom Halvorsen
Tom Halvorsen
Dr. Tom Halvorsen has served children for over thirty-nine years. He was a teacher in the Los Alamitos Unified School District for five years and an assistant principal in the Lennox School District for one year. In the Savanna School District (Anaheim, CA.), Dr. Halvorsen served as a Principal for eight years, Director of Personnel for one year, Assistant Superintendent (Business) for three years, and Superintendent for twenty-one years. He also has served as an adjunct professor with California State University, Fullerton.
Dr. Halvorsen received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from California State University, Long Beach in Education Leadership. He received his Doctorate degree in Education Administration from the University of Southern California. Dr. Halvorsen received the Honorary Service Award, Continuing Service Award, and the Golden Oak Service Award from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) for his advocacy on behalf of children. He also received the Innovation in Leadership Award from the University of Southern California.
Ralph Holmes
Ralph Holmes
Ralph Holmes is a Managing Director in the San Francisco Public Finance office of Stifel. Mr. Holmes began his work in public finance in 1996 as a credit analyst providing credit facilities to California issuers. In 1998 Mr. Holmes began his career in investment banking; first working with a regional investment bank before joining De La Rosa & Co. in 2006 and then Stifel as a part of the De La Rosa acquisition in 2014. Mr. Holmes specializes in land-secured, tax increment, utility, and general government financings. Mr. Holmes has served as the lead banker on hundreds of transactions for literally billions of dollars for California issuers.
Mr. Holmes serves on the board of the Oakland based Unity Council, which provides services to improve the lives of residents of Oakland’s Fruitvale district. Ralph received an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1996, and a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1994. He maintains Series 7, 52 and 63 licenses.
Mr. Holmes joined the Pivot Charter School Board of Directors in November 2016. He is passionate about educational choice and about helping kids find the right fit for their education. Mr. Holmes said, “It is an honor to serve on the Pivot board, and I am excited to help the school continue to grow its student population. The success of Pivot Charter Schools is a testament to educational choice and helping students find the right fit for their educational needs. I look forward to being a part of that for years to come”.
Patricia E. Martel
Pat Martel
Recently appointed as ICMA West Coast Regional Director following 38 years of distinguished service in California local government, Pat Martel held executive leadership positions with the cities of Inglewood, South San Francisco, Daly City, San Francisco and Hayward. Serving as an Assistant City Manager, General Manager of Public Utilities and City Manager, Ms. Martel was responsible for managing public services in communities ranging in size from 67,000 to 850,000 residents.
Most recently, Pat served as City Manager of Daly City from 2005 until retiring in June, 2018. She previously served as Assistant City Manger of Daly City from 1995 to 2001 before moving to the City and County of San Francisco to serve as the General Manager of the Public Utilities Commission. Throughout her career, Ms. Martel was committed to delivering high quality public services efficiently and cost effectively, enhancing community engagement and civic leadership, supporting organizational development and excellence, working collaboratively with elected officials to enhance governance and leadership, providing staff leadership development, advancing women and diversity in local government through inclusive recruitment, selection and professional development practices.
Throughout her tenure in public service, Pat was actively engaged in professional development as a member of the International City and County Management Association (ICMA). She served on the Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee, Task Force on Women in the Profession, Task Force on Financing ICMA, Task Force on Leadership, and the Task Force on Strengthening Inclusiveness in the Profession. Currently, she is the ICMA co-chair, in partnership with the Center for Public Safety Excellence, of a white paper research project on 21st Century Fire Services.
Ms. Martel was elected a member of the ICMA Executive Board as West Coast Regional Vice President, 2010-2013. She was selected by the Executive Board to serve as the 102nd President of ICMA in 2015. Pat has also served the profession as a member of the California City Management Foundation Board, the City Managers Department of the League of California Cities, Women Leading Government Board, the Local Government Hispanic Network Board, and was most recently selected to serve on the Board of the Institute for Local Government. Ms. Martel was inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2015 where she has served on the Fellows Nominating Committee.
Among her many interests, Pat has maintained a passion for nonprofit service. She has worked with a number of nonprofit organizations that support community needs including the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, Peninsula Family Service, Daly City Public Library Foundation and others. Her special interest in education led her to become a Trustee of the Roads Education Organization, which is responsible for oversight of the Pivot Charter Schools. The Governing Board of the Pivot Charter Schools are volunteers who are committed to enhancing educational opportunities for young people and believe the Pivot model of blended learning with personalized instruction is the future of education.
Martel is the recipient of numerous awards including: California City Management Foundation “City Manager of the Year” (2017), Elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration for sustained exemplary contributions to the improvement of Public Administration (2015), Women Leading Government Career Excellence Award (2013), San Francisco State University Award for Significant and Outstanding Public Service (2013), Daly City/Colma Chamber of Commerce Cypress Business Award for Leadership (2013), KQED Public Broadcasting Corporation and Kaiser Permanente Hispanic Heritage Month Local Hero for outstanding contributions and commitment to community service (2004), San Francisco Business Times Top 100 Women Business Leaders (2003) and 100 Most Influential Business Leaders in the Bay Area (2002).
A graduate of the University of Southern California, Martel holds a B.S. degree in Public Affairs and Journalism, as well as a Masters degree in Public Administration.
Steve Siegel
Steve Siegel
Steve Siegel believes that all students deserve a quality education aimed at empowering each individual to achieve their goals. A business owner and educational administration professional, he currently works in the fitness / wellness space and has secured financial resources for public and private colleges and universities for most of his career.
Steve pivoted professionally to start a business at the intersection of physical therapy and personal training. Relying on his advancement career, he builds lasting relationships with his clients to create an organization with a shared purpose.
As an advancement professional, Steve raised philanthropic support for colleges and universities funding scholarships, faculty, programs, research institutes, buildings, and more. Most importantly, he developed lifelong relationships and connected individuals with one another who share a common objective.
Steve has held leadership positions in a number of organizations including serving on the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association board of directors, as President of the Drucker School Alumni Association, as a member of the Carden Arbor View School board of directors, and as President of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (now Learning Ally) board in the Inland Empire/Orange County unit, as well as a member-at-large on the organization’s national board in Princeton, New Jersey.
Steve earned his MBA from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor’s degree in economics-accounting from Claremont McKenna College. He lives in Orange, California.
Throughout his career, Steve has mentored countless colleagues and students to pursue their interests and to apply themselves to thoughtful and productive careers in areas where they can make a difference. He believes that education throughout life is essential to personal growth, satisfaction, and well-being. He continues to promote the Pivot ideal of opening doors and developing lives.
O.J. Sutherland
O.J. Sutherland
OJ Sutherland founded Executive Events in 1987, a company that specializes in meetings, conferences, trade shows, and association management, which he still operates today. For the 25 years prior, he was the CIO for several California counties (Monterey, Marin, San Mateo) and served on the boards of several IT related professional organizations. Keeping his IT management roots alive, he currently works with Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC), California Counties Information Services Directors Association (CCISDA) and California Community College Chief Information Systems Officers Association (CISOA).
OJ also has a heart for building community and volunteering. He and his wife have served on the Africa Mercy hospital ship in West Africa, hosted the ‘Nerd Group’ (25+ college-age adults) weekly for dinner and ‘family’ time, traveled with 75+ high schoolers and leaders each summer up and down California doing ministry and community service, and has hosted 50+ college students weekly for dinner and fellowship. He and his wife have also welcomed into their home 35+ foreign students ranging in age from 16 to 40 from countries all over the world.
In addition to golf, fly-fishing, and softball, OJ (if you haven’t guessed it by now) also loves to create in the kitchen and entertain.
OJ was born and raised on vineyards in Santa Rosa, attended Shasta College in Redding and Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He and his wife, Sher, have been married for 37 years, have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. They have lived in Chico for the past 27 years.
The Governing Board members of the Pivot Charter Schools are volunteers who are committed to enhancing educational opportunities for young people and believe that the Pivot model of blended learning with personalized instruction is the future of education. Board members are leaders in their fields and are passionate about providing better opportunities for all young people regardless of location or circumstance. They believe that the Pivot model of education provides a rigorous yet unique and supportive alternative to traditional schools. They know that the individual attention and support provided at Pivot can change students’ lives.
Pivot Charter Schools are governed by the board of the Roads Education Organization, which is incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit, public benefit corporation, and has been designated by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501c3 tax-exempt organization. Roads Education Organization recruits qualified and appropriate candidates for the board from education, nonprofit, community, business, and legal organizations so that the current board is diverse in skill sets, perspectives, and backgrounds and can fully and responsibly govern the organization and schools while maintaining a unifying and passionate commitment to the vision and mission of the Pivot schools.
The Governing Board is responsible for oversight of the Pivot Charter Schools. While they do not engage in day to day operations, the Board hires, evaluates, and dismisses the Executive Director, who is responsible for running the schools. The Board is fully responsible for oversight of the fiscal and operational affairs of the schools.