SY22-23 HSA Executive Board and LSAT Representative Elections - Candidate Bios
We’re excited to announced the candidates for SY22-23 HSA Executive Board and LSAT Representatives. Ballots will be distributed to the SWWHS General Body via email, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 and will be collected via google form through June 15, 2022. Results will be announced online on June 16.
HSA
PRESIDENT
MAAN SACDALAN
I'm Maan Sacdalan, current HSA President, parent of rising 12 grader, Ryden Pahang. It has been my privilege to have sat on the Walls school board and other DCPS boards since 2010. I would love to continue to lead, fundraise, create fun and meaningful events for the school community, support our teachers and administration, and represent the school body and the values that we uphold. As a professional, I have 15 years of experience as a web designer and a strategist working on fundraising campaigns for non-profits across the country. I look forward to streamlining some of our website and communication platforms and to organizing in-person adults event in 2022. We can do it! Let's go, Penguins!
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VICE PRESIDENT
JANE TOBLER
Jane Tobler has served as an At-Large member of the HSA Executive Committee for two years. During that time, she has contributed to various projects including Ward Meet Ups, Homecoming 2022 (aka, the first dance the HSA hosted post school-from-home), the HSA budget, the former COVID Friday morning Walls/HSA Zoom coffee chats (yes, we had those). She also hosts the HSA Facebook page. (Yes, we have one—please follow and like!)
Jane is a proud parent of a Walls’ Junior and 2021 alumnus. In her work life, she is a passionate communications leader in public health specializing in strategic planning, engagement, partnership development, and training and technical assistance. She is excited to continue her leadership with the HSA and making the Walls experience, the best it can be for our students, faculty, and staff.
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SECRETARY
GINA LYNN ANDERSON
I served as HSA Treasurer for two years. I am currently the HSA Secretary. I have served on other boards. I am a lawyer and I also run a small real estate business. I am the proud parent of a Walls grad and a current junior.
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TREASURER & HSA Boosters Treasurer
DAWN LEIJON
Dawn has been a Walls parent since 2015. Her 2 sons have graduated and her daughter is currently a sophomore. Dawn’s background is in marketing, strategy and product management. Currently she is teaching MBA classes for Virginia Tech and managing 10 rental properties, plus she runs a small farmers market cookie business from May-December. Dawn became heavily involved with the baseball team several years ago and organizes their cookie fundraiser every December. She’s been helping to set up the Walls Athletics Booster club over the past year and is currently serving as its secretary/treasurer. She has coordinated Walls teams and clubs to raise over $40,000 in the last 3 years by baking and selling cookies, pies and brownies. Perhaps most importantly, she loves Excel, and she's willing to learn Quickbooks :)
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MODEL UN TREASURER
LINDA MACRI
I’m the parent of a rising junior (and a 2017 graduate of SWW who is now headed to graduate school). Though I haven’t had a previous HSA or PTA role, I was a parent representative on the board of directors for Bridges PCS for three years when one of my daughters was a student there, and I was the money manager and co-leader for our Girl Scout Troop for several years. By day I’m an administrator at the University of Maryland. My rising junior has been active in Model UN this year and it has been a wonderful experience for her, so I would like to continue to support the club by taking on this role.
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HSA AT-LARGE (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
CHIDI AZIKIWE
I am a mother to a senior, a junior and an alumni of School Without Wall. I am an at Large Member with the current HSA board. I am a member of Parent Advisory Board to Chancellor of Education 21/22. I am a nurse.
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DEIDRA BARKSDALE
Deidra M. Barksdale is a CPA and CGMA with over 31 years of business experience. She has served as the CFO of various non profit organizations in the Washington, DC area.
Deidra received her Bachelor’s in Accounting from Howard University. Among her many associations and accomplishments, Ms. Barksdale is a member of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Greater Washington Society of CPA’s (GWSCPA). She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has held a number of volunteer roles in her community including serving as an at large member of the School Without Walls HSA (21-22), the co-treasurer for the Alice Deal Community Association, and as a Board member of the Delta Housing Corporation of the District of Columbia, to name a few.
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KAREN QUARLES
My name is Karen Quarles and my daughter, Cate, is a junior at SWW. I have been affiliated with the HSA for the past two years. Over the pandemic/virtual school year, I served as the lead for our Angel Fund which through donations from the SWW community, we provide funding and other resources to our students and faculty in times of need. This past year, i had the privilege to serve as an At-Large Board member where I continued to work with the Board and the school administration on the Angel Fund. I also volunteered at our Homecoming, hosted a couple parent meet ups, and served ice cream to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week (which was super fun--to be in the school and meet the teachers in person).
I am running for At-Large Board Member to continue the work on the Angel Fund but also to see how we can do more to support our students and staff in the coming year. I would love to see how the HSA can create more opportunities for student engagement and social activities (more clubs, dances, gatherings, etc.); provide the support our teachers, staff and administration need; and increase the sense of community among all those connected to Walls--students, staff, alumni, and families. Thank you for your consideration.
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SANDRA MOSCOSO
I’m Sandra Moscoso, Parent of Wyndham, rising 11th Grader and Alex, 2021 alumni. I am currently an HSA At-Large member, served as HSA president school years 2020 and 2021 and have represented the HSA on LSAT. I am an officer in the boards of the Ward 2 Ed Council and the Ward 6 Public Schools Parent Organization (W6PSPO). In partnership with a rockstar HSA Board and LSAT, I have worked with the broader DCPS community to advocate on behalf of School Without Walls HS on issues including operational budget, access to athletic fields and courts, Covid health and safety (including student vaccine mandate), and school facility repairs. I am pursuing the roles of at-large HSA Board member and LSAT representative. I look to continue to advocate on behalf of our school, ensuring we have the resources to meet student needs. I also look to continue to put time and energy toward building a strong, citywide community and transparent, inclusive, school organizations.
By day, I am an international development consultant. I have 20+ years of experience supporting government, public and private sector organizations in implementing transparency and citizen engagement policy, programs, and systems. I have been fortunate that work has made it possible for me to see a fair bit of the world, but I am happiest while enjoying pizza with friends and family on Friday nights.
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BUWON TRAN
I am Buwon Tran and Derek Emons’ mother (Class of 2024). Within these past two years, I supported advocacy efforts and volunteered at different school events. Now, I am humbled and honored to be nominated by a fellow HSA-At-Large Board Member. She knows I advise global game developers and other clients on their businesses.
Most importantly, the value I provide to my clients will be similar to what I will bring to Walls - a combination of strategic thinking and sweat equity. In summary, I would love to have your vote. Thank you very much!
LSAT
LSAT PARENT REPRESENTATIVES (alphabetical order)
PETER BOYCE
Greetings! I'm Peter Boyce, proud parent of four sons - two college grads, a Junior at Jacskon-Reed HS and a Freshman here at School Without Walls HS. I'm a Barbadian-born naturalized US citizen with a background in Journalism, Civil Rights Law and Intelligence.
Children are the future of all societies and to this end, I view their welfare, education, and enhanced development as priorities for all communities. I have served and volunteered on many school/community-based organizations, including one-year as Co-President, along with our current HSA President, Maan Sacdalan, at the Alice Deal Middle School Community Association (ADCA), and I also served for two-years on the Alice Deal LSAT as the ADCA representative where I testified before DCPS for greater funding for Social-Emotional Learning.
With your support, I'll find the gusto-energy needed to fulfill the exhausting responsibilities of the School Without Walls Local School Advisory Team (LSAT).
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ESPERANZA ROMAN-MENDOZA
I am a professor of Spanish Linguistics and Online Learning at George Mason University, and a proud parent of a rising 12th grader, Mani. As an educator with 25+ years of experience, I am a strong advocate for public education and shared governance. I have served as SWW LSAT member during 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, and am looking forward to representing parents on the LSAT again during 2022-2023.
I also bring my previous experience as parent representative at Oyster-Adams (OA) and The School within the School—where I was highly involved with different academic, administrative, and extra-curricular initiatives such as school actions, field trips, free tutoring in Spanish, and book fairs. I was room parent and school communications translator for many years and served on the search committee for the current school principal at OA. I was also an LSAT member at OA for several terms.
As I have proved during the past two years, I am committed to supporting SWW’s values and goals by collaborating with administrators, staff, teachers, parents, students, and community members on the LSAT. I am a hard-worker and very devoted to the success and education of our youth. Thanks for your consideration.
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DANA SPRINGER
My name is Dana Springer and I would like to serve as a parent representative on the LSAT. My son Ian is in 9th grade at Walls, and I have a 7th grader at Deal Middle School. I have worked in education for 25 years, measuring and analyzing data about student achievement and home, school, and classroom contexts for learning, in the United States and internationally. I worked at the US Department of Education's statistical agency from 2009 to 2018 and will be back there again as of June. I believe that my professional experience would be an asset to the LSAT as it advocates for resources and initiatives that strengthen the Walls community and students’ experiences. I was a class parent many times when my children were in elementary school. I would love the opportunity to collaborate with others in the Walls community to help ensure a range of learning opportunities and a positive school environment for our students.
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SONJA WALTI
I am the parent of a Class of 2024 School Without Walls grad who attended Jefferson Academy MS and Maury ES. I am also the host mother of an incoming AFS exchange student from Thailand and the mother of a 2020 Walls alumnus. I have a deep commitment to DC Public Schools and hands-on experience working with schools in various capacities since 2007, from serving on the LSAT at Maury ES, Stuart-Hobson MS, Jefferson Academy MS, to serving as the PTO fundraising chair, vice-president, and president at Jefferson Academy, to participating in several principal selection processes. Over the years, I have taken part in many school-, Ward-, and District-wide community meetings, focus groups, (budget) information and training sessions, and City Council meetings on education.
Through my work as an advisor to and advocate for public schools, I have steadfastly placed the distinct challenges of public schools at the center of my concerns. Having observed first-hand the challenging path to city-wide educational equity at the above-mentioned schools, I am vested in finding effective and just solutions that support equitable access to advanced secondary education. As a dual national, I also hold global competencies and foreign languages dear. That is why I volunteer with the AFS Capital Area Team, as its school outreach coordinator for Washington DC. I favor a collaborative and data-driven approach to problem solving, values that are instilled in me through my daytime job as a college professor in public affairs. Having held elected office, I am also keenly aware that at times politics and mobilization are needed to effectively serve our school leaders, teachers, parents, and students. If elected as an LSAT Parent Representative, I intend to bring my experience, passion, and insight to School Without Walls’ LSAT meetings and related activities while serving our school community with integrity and transparency.