Caliber's Leadership Team
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Terence Johnson, CEO
Terence comes to Caliber with more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of education. He began his career as a teacher, athletic director, and Principal in Colorado Public Schools, before moving to Houston where he led the turnaround of schools in underserved communities. Terence then moved on to the KIPP Foundation leadership team, where after serving 12 years as Senior Director of Leadership, Terence joined KIPP Memphis as Chief Schools Officer, and eventually returned to Houston as Head of Schools for KIPP Houston. Terence says that he is “very excited about the opportunity to work with the Caliber team, parents and students to continue making Caliber Schools a place that exemplifies excellence and continues to prepare our learners for their next steps.” Markus Mullarkey, COO
Markus Mullarkey comes to Caliber after a long and successful career in the private sector. He spent over 15 years in marketing and leadership roles at successful blue-chip companies such as Proctor & Gamble, the Boston Consulting Group, and CNET Networks. And he founded and grew his own mobile entertainment start-up for 8 years before joining Caliber. Markus has a passion for K-12 education, having consulted to EdTech companies in the sector and having served as a fundraising board member at his daughter’s school. He also has a lifelong connection to the East Bay. He grew up and went to school in Richmond and Albany and now lives with his wife and two daughters only a few miles from Caliber:Beta Academy. Markus graduated from Harvard College and went on to complete an MBA and a post-graduate Finance Fellowship from Harvard Business School. Ric Zappa, Chief Academic Officer
Ric Zappa has been an educator for over 30 years, teaching in elementary, middle, high school,and community college. Under his leadership, KIPP Summit Academy received the Title 1 Academic Achievement, California Distinguished School, and the National Blue Ribbon Awards. Ric is considered a national leader and expert in Restorative Practices and Social-Emotional Learning. Andy Grossman, Lower School Leader at Caliber Beta Academy
After spending the past three years as a teacher, coach and Assistant Principal at Caliber Beta Academy, Andy Grossman is excited about the opportunity to move into the role of School Leader in the 2018-2019 school year. Andy graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001 and began his teaching career in Oakland Unified School District that same year. Andy completed his Masters in Teaching at John F. Kennedy University in 2006 and received his School Leadership Credential from Cal State East Bay in 2014. Prior to joining the Caliber Team, Andy spent 11 years in San Leandro Unified School District where he won the Cynthia Copp Award for Innovative Teaching and worked on initiatives to bring Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to district schools. Andy brings a passion for student learning, an enthusiasm for building strong relationships, and a commitment to rigorous academics to campus every day, as well as a strong sense of gratitude that he gets to be a part of this community of “fire breathing, book reading, Caliber Dragons!” |
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Timothy Pruitt, Upper School Leader at Caliber Beta Academy
Tim Pruitt provides leadership development and coaching for school leaders, the teams they support, and the communities they serve. In partnership with Dallas ISD, he has designed and facilitated in-depth instructional leadership training for 230 principals, 450 assistant principals, and over 30 district executive leaders. As a lifelong educator, he has worked with students, families, and community partners in the pursuit of equitable opportunities in schools. Tim entered education as a high school English teacher and has held roles as a Dean, Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal, and Principal. He has worked with The New Teacher Project, Teach For America, Teaching Trust, and the Salvation Army. Tim earned a Bachelors of Arts degree from Rhodes College and a Masters in Teaching degree from the University of Memphis. He stays balanced through exercise, travel, and quality time with family and friends. |
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Rachael Weingarten, Lower School Leader at Caliber ChangeMakers Academy
Mrs. Weingarten is absolutely thrilled about being the founding school Leader at Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy in Vallejo. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Elementary Education and completed her masters in Urban Education and leadership from the University of Southern California. Rachael began her teaching career in Tucson, Arizona, where she taught 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grade. She then taught 3rd and 4th grade in Detroit. She was the founding second and third grade teacher at KIPP Empower Academy (KEA) in Los Angeles, CA. After teaching she transitioned into being Dean of Instruction and Culture at KEA. Rachael is a lifelong educator and is committed to her students, families, and the community of Vallejo. |
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Asha Canady, 6-8 School Leader at Caliber ChangeMakers Academy
Asha is a Northern California native and was fortunate to return to the area after completing a Masters Degree at the University of Michigan in Education, Leadership and Policy. Asha has had a diverse career in education, including being a high school English teacher, a Fulbright Scholar in Athens, Greece and the founding 6th grade ELA teacher at Caliber ChangeMakers Academy. Asha is thrilled to continue partnering with families in Vallejo as the 6th-8th grade school leader. Asha is a proud resident of Vallejo and enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and learning something new. |
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Sarah Strom, Head of Talent
Sarah joins Caliber with 15 years of experience in education. She began her career as a 4th and 5th grade teacher with the District of Columbia Public Schools. After teaching she became a teacher coach, coaching MS ELA teachers in Washington, D.C. She began working with charter schools as the Director of the Capital Teaching Residency at KIPP DC where over five years she worked with schools to train over 400 new teachers. At KIPP DC Sarah also worked as an Elementary School Assistant Principal. She recently moved to the Bay Area with her husband and young daughter, Mari. She is involved with everything related to recruiting and hiring, as well as taking part in organizational strategy, teacher sustainability, professional development, and all things communication. Sarah got her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, her teaching degree from American University in Washington, D.C. and recently received her MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In her free time, she enjoys almost every kind of work-out, hiking, spending time with friends and family, and cooking or being inspired to cook by watching cooking shows. |
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Angelina Molina, Sr. Managing Director- Teaching & Learning
Angelina Molina joins the Caliber team after several years serving underserved youth across the United States. A North Bay Area native, Angelina graduated from the University of California, Berkeley before completing her Master of Arts degree in Education Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. She began her career in education serving youth in East Oakland at New Highland Academy before stepping into the classroom as an Elementary Teacher in Oklahoma City. She taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, where she improved district benchmark scores by over 50% in 3 months, before moving on to pilot a Summer Institute program as a School Operations Director. Angelina has served in various capacities in education throughout the years, some of which include: Grade Level Lead Teacher, Instructional Coach, and Policy Analyst for the Oakland City Council President. Most recently Angelina was the Upper School Intervention Services Coordinator for Making Waves Academy in Richmond; where she designed a gold-standard core-day intervention services program that reduced the need for academic intervention by over 75% in the first year. Angelina is absolutely thrilled to join the Caliber team, and is excited to continue to serve School Leaders, faculty, staff, students, and families, as the Head of Teaching and Learning for Caliber Schools. |
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Gwen Agustin, Head of Special Education and Student Services
Gwen has worked in public education for over 20 years. She has a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Child Adolescent Development. She holds a M.S. in Psychology and PPS credentials in school psychology and school counseling. Gwen also has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership as well as a clear administrative credential. She began her career as a preschool teacher and then worked for several years as a school psychologist. She then went into administration in special education. She has worked in charter and public schools throughout the bay area and has supported students from preschool through high school. Gwen has also taught courses in psychology, behavior intervention and classroom management, and systems consultation to undergraduate and graduate students working towards careers in education. Gwen’s educational philosophy is based on an inclusive and social justice framework. She is passionate about student equity and believes that all children can achieve given the right supports and services. Gwen is thrilled to be part of the Caliber team. |
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Cormac Harkins, Data, Research & Analytics Lead
Cormac is returning to Bay Area after spending a year back at his home in Boston where he earned a M.Ed in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. Prior to graduate school, he worked in San Francisco at Breakthrough Collaborative as Manager of Research and Evaluation where he supported the internal evaluation process for Breakthrough’s students and teaching fellows across the country. Before moving to Bay Area, Cormac worked (and lived) at the Match Charter High School in Boston where he tutored students, coordinated the after-school program, and helped coach the basketball team. He graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in Anthropology. |
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Jennifer Hinojosa, Talent and Communications Lead
Jennifer joined Caliber Public Schools after almost 3 years of working with KIPP Bay Area schools as the Operations Associate. She earned her degree in Sociology and minor in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley. She was born and raised in South Los Angeles, but has been in the Bay Area for 7 years. While working as a literacy tutor in an elementary school while in college, her passion for closing the education gap in communities of color like her own became even more important. She has worked as an AVID tutor for a middle school and facilitated math and writing groups for students who needed extra support in those subjects. Transitioning to her operational role meant she would not be working with students directly, but she still managed to build meaningful relationships with them. Every year she would take a group of them on a tour to her alma mater in order to encourage them and show them that going to a college or university of their choice was possible no matter their current circumstance. She is very excited to be serving the students and surrounding communities at Caliber! Estefania Garcia, HR Lead
Estefania was born in Ecuador and raised in Oakland. She earned her degree in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley in 2017. After graduating college, she worked at Kaiser Permanente's Human Resources Department for their Benefits and Enrollments team. While doing this work, she was also able to learn a lot about Human Resources and how to better assist employees regarding both benefit and leave concerns. However, she found that she was not living her passion, which has always been to work in a place where she could give back to a community like her own. While in college she volunteered at her elementary school as well as at a Head Start located in Oakland and found that she could do meaningful work outside of the classroom. Through these volunteer experiences, she realized that there was a lot of work to do be done for the families in our community; this is where a passion to aid in this work began. During her last years of UC Berkeley, she expanded this mission by volunteering at a non-profit Immigration center located in Berkeley. She is thrilled to have found her way back to serving communities that mirror the one she grew up in as the SSO Executive Assistant at Caliber Public Schools. |
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Laurence Li, Data and Student Information Associate
Laurence joined Caliber Public Schools as a recent graduate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Technology, Innovation, and Education program. Before earning his M. Ed, he worked as an educational consultant in Beijing, China for two years, helping students discover their higher education and career paths. In 2017, he graduated from Yale with a degree in English and concentration in Creative Writing. At Caliber, Laurence is excited to join the Data & Operations teams and use educational data as a force for informed, equitable decision making. |
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Devin Gross, Regional Director of Operations
Devin comes to Caliber Public Schools with over 10 years in the education field and 15 years overall leadership experience. A native of Washington DC, Devin spent 6 years as the Youth and Family Services Director at the Alexandria YMCA running after school programs and summer camps for over 200 students. After spending some time in retail management and moving to California, Devin has spent the last 4 1/2 years at Rocketship Public Schools as a Business Operations manager helping to grow its East Bay region and founding a TK-5th grade school (Rocketship Delta Prep) in Antioch,CA. Devin is a people person and is dedicated to serving school communities through innovation and teamwork through operational systems and routines. Devin is super excited to be with Caliber and help continue to impact our students and communities in a positive way. |