Home Office
Home Office
The Chavez Home Office, headed by Irasema Salcido as Chief Executive Officer, was developed to plan and implement the expansion of Chavez into a network of schools. The Home Office has four primary functions:
- Ensuring each school implements the key components of the Chavez model.
- Ensuring that academic performance of each school meets and exceeds expectations by setting measurable achievement goals with respect to academics and operations; providing support and training to help schools attain those goals; measuring progress toward those goals.
- Providing operational support to existing schools in the areas of finance and accounting, data management, marketing and recruiting, contracted services, and compliance.
- Managing the launch of new schools by securing facilities, preparing staffing and financial models, developing a student and teacher recruitment plan, identifying new principals, and outreaching to new community.
Home Office Staff Biographies
Irasema Salcido is the founder and CEO of the Chavez Schools. Before founding the first Chavez school in 1998, Irasema Salcido worked for nine years in the DC public school system. She is considered an expert on charter schools and a leader in the charter school movement in DC. She received an award from the Caring Institute, designating her as one of the “Six Most Caring Citizens in the U.S of 1999,” and in February 2001, she was awarded the “Use Your Life Award” from Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network© for her dedication to the students of Cesar Chavez. Also, in 2004 she received a “Hero” award from Hispanic CREO and, in 2005, was honored as a Distinguished Alumna from her alma mater, California State University at Fullerton, from which she received a BA in Business Administration. She also holds a MA in Education, Administration, and Social Planning from Harvard University.
Email:irasema.salcido@chavezschools.org
Jeff Cooper joined the Home Office in 2009 as the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Cooper comes to Chávez with 20 years of leadership experience in the private sector. Most recently, he helped build and then led Capital One’s Enterprise Risk Management function. Prior to Capital One, Mr. Cooper was a Senior Manager in Deloitte Consulting’s Finance Operations and Strategy Practice where he helped numerous clients reduce cost, increase revenue and generally improve the efficiency of their operations. Mr. Cooper has a BA in Public Policy from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Cooper is directly accountable for all financial, operational and academic functions within Chávez Schools.
Email: jeff.cooper@chavezschools.org
Tracy Wright is a proud resident of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, Tracy Wright has served the District of Columbia’s children for over fifteen years. During her tenure, Tracy served in the capacities of teacher, social worker, assistant principal, principal and mentor principal for new and aspiring administrators within the system. Tracy’s expertise and record of success in working with children and families in poverty led to her appointment as both member and leader of the administrative teams for two schools that were restructured due to low student achievement, hostile school-community relationships, and challenged school climates. In addition to her work with the children and families of Washington DC, Tracy has lead the charge of improving urban education through her service as an adjunct professor for Trinity University’s Master of Education Administration and School Counseling Programs and through her work in the field of urban leadership development with New Leaders for New Schools. Tracy joined the Cesar Chavez team in October of 2009 as a Leadership Development Coach for school leaders and transitioned into the role of Chief Academic Officer in January 2010.
Email: tracy.wright@chavezschools.org
Norma Barfield joined the Home Office as Chief Development and Marketing Officer in 2007. Prior to joining Chavez Schools, Ms. Barfield served as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for The Bartech Group, a staffing services firm, from 1993-2007. She also practiced banking and commercial law with Jenner & Block in Chicago and corporate law with Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone in Ann Arbor, MI.
Ms. Barfield served as the Vice Chairman of the UNCF Campaign in Southeastern Michigan for five years contributing to a significant increase in funds raised during her tenure. Other community activities have included serving on the Boards of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan. Currently Ms. Barfield serves on the Board of the National Conference on Citizenship and on the Steering Committee of the Ron Brown Scholars Program.
Ms. Barfield earned a BA from Harvard University and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Email: norma.barfield@chavezschools.org
Sean Songer joined Chavez in October of 2009 as Director of Finance. Prior to joining Chavez, he worked as a Director at Reach Out and Read, a national literacy organization based in Boston, MA. Prior to that Mr. Songer spent time as a management consultant with Celerant Consulting where he focused on achieving financial and operational excellence for his clients. In addition Mr. Songer spent time as a high school history teacher. He has an MBA from New York University and a BA from Yale University.
Email: sean.songer@chavezschools.org
Terri Smyth-Riding joined the Chavez team in 2009. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources from the HR Certification Institute, an affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Having received her BA from the University of Maryland – Eastern Shore, she has done graduate work toward her MBA at Towson University and Johns Hopkins University. Terri has nearly 20 years of progressive experience in the HR function, having found her niche in leading human resources from transactional to strategic in the various private sector organizations she has supported. Terri has responsibility for our talent management initiatives such as employee recruitment and retention, performance management, and employee relations as well as policy and benefits administration.
Email: terri.smythriding@chavezschools.org
Arturo Martinez is the current Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Home Office division of the Chavez Schools. Previously he was the Vice Principal of Curriculum and Instruction of the Chavez Capitol Hill Campus for three years. Prior to that he served as English as a Second Language Coordinator. Mr. Martinez also taught ESL and Social Studies at the original Chavez School. Mr. Martinez has a BA in History and Psychology from Macalester College and a MA in Education and Human Development from George Washington University, where he specialized in bilingual special education and ESL Instruction. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Spanish Philology from the Universitat de les Illes Balears in Mallorca, Spain, focusing on the benefits of teaching academic content in Spanish to Spanish-speaking ESL students in the U.S. Mr. Martinez also serves on the board of directors of Resources for Inner-City Children (RICH), a non-profit organization that provides educational resources and support to inner-city high school students.
Email: arturo.martinez@chavezschools.org
Susan Flora is the Director of Operations for the Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy. Prior to coming to the home office, Ms. Flora served as the founding Principal of the Chavez Parkside campus for three and a half years. She is also the founder of the Chavez Middle School program, having led a group of educators on writing the application to amend the Chavez School charter. Ms. Flora joined the Chavez School in January 1999 while completing her Master in Public Policy degree at American University in Washington, DC and has served in many roles at Chavez over the past decade. Before coming to the Chavez Schools, Ms. Flora was a Teach for America corps member in Baton Rouge, LA, where she taught seventh grade American History at Istrouma Middle Magnet School. Ms. Flora is the recipient of a 2005 French Culture and Language Fellowship from The Washington Post and served on the Inspired Principal Institute Advisory Board with the Center for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her MPP, she has a B.A. in History from The Johns Hopkins University. In the fall of 2008, Ms. Flora began work on her doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Email: susan.flora@chavezschools.org
Julie Harris is the Director of Public Policy, organizing the unique public policy curriculum. Prior to joining Chavez, Ms. Harris taught high school and middle school in New Orleans. She also worked for the Close Up Foundation, designing, training and implementing experiential education programs in Washington, DC. Ms. Harris regularly meets with International visitors to discuss civic education in emerging or transitional democracies. She obtained a Bachelors Degree in Sociology/Psychology from Loyola University New Orleans, and a Masters Degree in International Education from George Washington University. She is also a recipient of the James Madison Fellowship for teachers of the Constitution.
Email: julie.harris@chavezschools.org
Joshua Symonette is our Operations Manager, recently joining Chavez in 2009. Prior to joining Chavez, Joshua worked as an Executive Team Leader for Target, overseeing logistics. He also worked with youth in the DC area for more than 5 years as Director of Youth Affairs at Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church in Northeast. At Chavez, Joshua will help manage the operations for all of our campuses as well as monitor compliance, enrollment/student recruitment and supplemental education services. He has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies (with a concentration in English Journalism) from Tennessee Technological University and an MA in Practical Theology from Regent University.
Email: joshua.symonette@chavezschools.org
Roc Blakeney joined the Chavez Home Office as the system’s first Director of Facilities. Mr. Blakeney brings a wide variety of expertise in the management of commercial and corporate property, as well as budgeting and capital projects. He has served as a facilities manager of several DC-area organizations, and he is skilled in preventive maintenance. Mr. Blakeney is a retired Navy Helicopter Combat Air Crewman who served in Desert Storm. He holds a BS in Military Science from Old Dominion University.
Email: roc.blakeney@chavezschools.org
Ernesto Natera is Chavez’s Athletic Director, overseeing athletics at all three campuses. Mr. Natera has taught Spanish and Physical Education, as well as served as head basketball coach for several local varsity teams. He brings experience with the development of school-based intramural programs, tournament planning, coaches’ training, athletic fundraising, and working with inner-city youth. Mr. Natera has a BA from Milligan College, where he served as the student assistant for the men’s varsity basketball team.
Email: ernesto.natera@chavezschools.org
Walter Gonzalez is Chavez’s Technology Director. Mr. Gonzalez oversees all information technology at the campuses. Mr. Gonzalez is bi-lingual in English and Spanish, and provides hardware, software, and network administration services to Chavez. He has over fifteen years experience as a technical support representative for Ingetra, in Paraguay, and as a system administrator.
Email: walter.gonzalez@chavezschools.org
Juliet Mohnkern is the Assistant Director of Public Policy. Ms. Mohnkern works with the Director of Public Policy to coordinate public policy programs and courses as well as the integration of public policy into the curriculum. Prior to joining Chavez, Ms. Mohnkern worked at MATCH Public Charter School in Boston. Additionally she brings experience from working with a variety of youth programs including Amnesty Internationals Human Rights Education Service Corps and the Student Movement for Real Change. Ms. Mohnkern has a BA in Classics from Boston College and MA in Ethics, Peace Studies, and Global Affairs from American University.
Email: juliet.mohnkern@chavezschools.org
Gerard Jackson currently serves as the Special Education Program Director for Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools and has DC certification in the area of Special Education. Mr. Gerard Jackson has worked in the field of education for 17 years. He received his BA in Economics/Accounting from The University of Rochester. He immediately entered The University of Rochester School for Education and Human Development to pursue a graduate degree in Secondary Education. Mr. Jackson earned NYS Teaching Certification in Social Science and Math and began his early years of teaching in the Rochester City School District. After a five year tenured social science and math instructor, Mr. Jackson moved to Charlotte, NC and taught Math in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district for two years. In 1999, Mr. Jackson joined the Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy Team as a math teacher. In the spring of 1999, Mr. Jackson was nominated for DC Charter School Teacher of Year while teaching 10th grade Geometry. During the summer of 2004, Mr. Jackson took a one year sabbatical to expand his interest in the field of Special Education. Mr. Jackson was awarded a full-time scholarship into the Special Education Program at George Washington University – School of Education and Human Development. The focus of the special education program was in studying children/Adolescence with Emotional Disabilities. The one-year intense graduate program included a full-time teaching internship at the Children’s Guild, a special education school located in Chillum, MD. After completion of the program and earning a MA in Education and Human Development, Mr. Jackson returned to Cesar Chavez PCS where he has served as the Special Education Director for the Parkside Campus for four years.
Email: gerard.jackson@chavezschools.org
Demetri Tyler is a graduate of Dickinson College with a double major in Computer Science and Art. Demetri has worked in the IT field for the last 9 years with experience at local charter schools and IT companies. Currently, Demetri serves as the Director of Student Information providing PowerSchool support and training to over 100 staff members.
Email: demetri.tyler@chavezschools.org
Tsegaye Legesse is the Chavez Accountant. He manages the day-to-day functions of the Accounting and Finance Department. Before he joined Chavez, he worked as a staff accountant in the construction and health industries. He has several years of experience in non-profit management. He holds bachelor degrees in Management and in Accounting. Currently, he is doing his part time MBA at Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore/Towson.