2023-24 ACSA board officers installed

Association of California School Administrators

Retired superintendent Doug Gephart conducted the swearing-in ceremony for the 2023-34 Executive Board. From left, Gephart, Gina Potter, Erin Simon, Daryl Camp, Rafael Plascencia and Parvin Ahmadi.

May 22, 2023

The line-up for the 2023-24 ACSA Executive Board has been set.

San Lorenzo USD Superintendent Daryl Camp will join the board as Vice President after being elected during ACSA’s Leadership Assembly. San Ysidro ESD Superintendent Gina Potter will also serve another two-year term as Vice President for Legislative Action after winning re-election for that office.

Camp and Potter were elected by ACSA delegates representing each region during Leadership Assembly, held May 11 in Sacramento. Delegates had two candidates to choose from for each office: Camp and Julie Vitale, superintendent of Oceanside USD, for the office of Vice President; and Potter and Dana Carter, principal, Yucaipa Adult School, for the office of Vice President for Legislative Action.

Retired superintendent and ACSA CTC Liaison Doug Gephart conducted the swearing-in ceremony for the 2023-24 Board of Directors and Executive Board. Incoming ACSA President Parvin Ahmadi thanked Gephart for being a mentor and thought-partner throughout her career. She also congratulated outgoing President Erin Simon for leading the association through a year in which ACSA formed critical partnerships with affinity groups CAAASA, CALSA and CAAPLE, and welcomed a new executive director.

During her remarks, Ahmadi shared how coming from Iran to attend school as an exchange student in Ames, Iowa, shaped her passion for improving education.

“Our lived experiences shape how we see the world,” she said. “A system completely ill equipped to support English learners made my adjustment to a new world extremely difficult.”

However, she had teachers who understood that “speaking a language other than English is not a deficit, but an asset.”

Like every parent who has had a negative experience in school, Ahmadi said she dreams that her children will have a better experience. But too often, having a good experience is dependent on luck.

“We must ask why luck is ever a necessity for some students to have the kind of support they deserve,” she said. “I am certain that examining history — unvarnished history at that — sheds light on systems of oppression and hierarchy designed exactly for the kind of results we see.”

Ahmadi said she was excited to lead ACSA next year and shared her “deepest gratitude” for the hard work ACSA leaders are doing in schools every day.

“You’ve made decisions to be part of this amazing organization that has tremendous potential and power to make a difference,” Ahmadi said. “With our collective power through ACSA, we can advocate for policies and legislation that enhance opportunities for all of our students and families, especially those farthest from justice.”

During the Leadership Assembly, ACSA leaders from throughout the state also heard an update on the year’s progress by Executive Director Edgar Zazueta and a report from ACSA President Simon, as well as an equity presentation from Francisco Escobedo, executive director at the National Center of Urban School Transformation.

Leadership Summit Planning Committee Chair Patricia Brent-Sanco invited everyone to attend the 2023 conference in Sacramento and revealed the theme, “Challenge Accepted: Courageous and Effective Leadership for Equitable Student Outcomes.”

“We must ask why luck is ever a necessity for some students to have the kind of support they deserve.”

— Parvin Ahmadi, 2023-24 ACSA President

ACSA’s Governmental Relations team presented updates on the current legislative session, ACSA’s work with the governor, State Board of Education and CTC, and the budget process. ACSA Senior Director of Governmental Relations Iván Carrillo credited ACSA leaders for their contributions to this work. “Your plates are full to say the least,” he said. “ACSA is in a really good place when it comes to advocacy, and the foremost reason for that is you all.”

ACSA’s Partner4Purpose program also gave out a new award, the Legacy Partner Award, to honor partners that have a long history of supporting ACSA’s mission, its members and California’s students through continuous financial contributions to the association.

The inaugural winner of the Legacy Partner Award is Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo. For three decades, AALRR has provided critical information to ACSA members during numerous professional development events at the state and region level. Managing Partner James Baca and Partner Paul Loya accepted the award alongside more than a dozen members of the AALRR team, and thanked ACSA for its support of the law firm since its founding in 1979.

ACSA’s 2023-24 Executive Board gathers for a huddle following their swearing in.

Incoming ACSA President Parvin Ahmadi thanked her family for their support, including her husband, Jafar, who was videotaping her speech.

Mary Ann Sanders congratulates Daryl Camp on winning the office of ACSA Vice President.

ACSA presented the Legacy Partner Award to AALRR. From left, ACSA Partnership Executive Alice Petrossian, AALRR Partner Paul Loya and ACSA Deputy Executive Director Margarita Cuizon-Armelino.

ACSA’s 2023-24 Executive Board.

ACSA presented the Legacy Partner Award to AALRR.