ELITE 2019-2020 BOARD MEMBERS ELDER DOMINIQUE BEAUMONTE Elder Dominique Beaumonte is a passionate educator and community servant. As a former foster youth, he has committed his life to mentoring African-American men and boys. He demonstrates his commitment to his community by serving as a mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters, advising several U.C. Davis and Sac State student groups, serving as President of the Sacramento chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and as an advocate for African American students. Professionally, he is an accomplished higher education administrator, career coach and community leader. Mr. Beaumonte has worked at the UC Davis for close to 10 years. During his tenure, he has served as the chairman of the African Faculty and Staff Association and member of the Restorative Justice Taskforce. He has a great love for the Lord and sharing God’s word. As a minister, He serves faithfully at the Progressive Church of God in Christ. At Progressive, he serves as the President of Singles Living Victoriously, President of the Young People Willing Workers (YPWW), Education Coordinator for the Youth Department, Scholarship Committee member, Armor Bearer to the Pastor, and member of the music department. He believes his life's mission is to empower others to tap into their God-given potential for the greater good of humanity. Elder Beaumonte is a native of Seattle, Washington. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Ethnic studies/Journalism in 2003 and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Counseling from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2006. TAUSHA JOHNSON Tausha Johnson has been active in the fields of strategic planning, event production, marketing, project management and content development focusing on the nonprofit, corporate, healthcare, sports and entertainment industries for over 21 years, procuring sponsorship, promoting philanthropy and volunteerism within those sectors. Tausha has conducted programs for institutions such as Easterseals Bay Area, Kaiser Permanente, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the City of Oakland, the Charles Woodson Foundation, East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), the City of Vallejo, People’s Health Spectacular, Bless the Children Foundation, and The Anthony Dorsett, Jr. Foundation. Tausha earned a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Communication which aids her in achieving her special brand of communication, engagement and results. It is her determination and compassion for others that fuel her professional accomplishments. Her belief in her clients’ success is instrumental in assisting them to reach extraordinary levels never imagined possible. She currently serves as a Sr. Consultant for the Eccentric Consulting Group, where she tirelessly works to increase the visibility of her new agency. Tausha currently consults for multiple nonprofits, a sitting city councilman, and a charter school. MR. CLARENCE BLOCK Mr. Block is a Retired Paralegal, with expertise in Family Criminal, Landlord-Tenant and Civil Law as well as the Code of Federal Regulations. Over the past 25 years, he has developed experience working in many different legal environments, including law firms. housing and development at the San Francisco Housing Authority, and the Berkeley Housing Authority. Clarence has also worked in the Real Estate and the Mortgage industry. Mr. Block has a B.A. in Business Management, and a Paralegal Certificate respectively from Saint Mary's College, Moraga, CA, and a Real Estate License from California Department of Real Estate. Though he is currently retired, he continues to assist local Attorneys in their Private practices, doing case research, writing motions, and case management. Prior to and after retiring he operated a business known as CMB Attorney Service and was a legal Process Server. Mr. Block characterizes himself a “fighter for justice”. He has a passion for helping people and has assisted many people in their fight for justice and fairness. He has also assisted many young people seeking advice in their academic pursuits. Mr. Block has lives in the city of Vallejo, with his wife Martha of 46 years. They have 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. They have resided the city of Vallejo, CA since 1986. Their children attended and graduated from schools in the Vallejo City Unified School District, as have several of his grandchildren. He dedicates life to their wellness and education. JUANITA REYNOLDS Dr. Juanita Reynolds, is a native of Oakland, California. She currently serves as the Executive Director Northern California for Honors Pathway. Dr. Reynolds has worked in education for over 20 years in various capacities and is considered an expert in school turnaround. She has served as a school district office administrator, a site administrator for elementary, middle and high school, as well as teacher. She most recently served as a Director of Programs at New Leaders for New Schools. In 2015 Dr. Reynolds received the Capital City Legends Award for her outstanding service and commitment to education. TONI MALLORY Toni is the owner of The Sayles Group, Inc. in Vallejo. Toni’s business is referral-based from both clients and agents and she has closed over $50 million dollars in residential real estate. Protecting her clients’ interests is of paramount importance to her. One of her greatest passions is the well being of others. Being there to help in a time of need is what drives her. As a native born daughter of the Golden State, Toni is truly a “California Girl”. She fell in love with Solano County after moving here in 1988 from Southern California. She has worked in every facet of the real estate industry beginning with 5 years as a loan officer to 19 years passionately listing and selling property throughout the state. The pride of her life’s work has been her work in educating and mentoring young adults and the work she has done in the community. Many of these young people have achieved levels of professionalism and entrepreneurship beyond their imaginations and much credit has been given to Toni for her guidance and her generosity. She has given not only of her time but of her resources to provide scholarships to graduating high school students. She has organized and supported community events to educate and provide outside resource assistance to the children and their parents. Her clients are provided the highest level of exceptional service, professionalism and integrity. Her mission statement is “I help people for a living, I just happen to sell real estate.” She is driven by her unbending passion to succeed and achieve her goals. Her contributions to numerous community programs and her presence at many of the prominent industry events are a testament to her commitment to the people of this city. She is driven to help her community achieve sustained improvement and development to achieve the vision for the future. She is passionate about embracing a culture of success, family, fun and charitable works. She is not only building a foundation, but she is creating a legacy, one of the marks of a great leader. She encourages her staff by allowing them to succeed, along with the freedom to fail, since she has learned that mistakes often lead to innovation. Her staff truly respects and appreciates her for providing inspiration on a daily basis. Toni leads by example and empowers everyone to greater heights, always encouraging creative thinking to overcoming any challenge. From 2000 to the present she has served in numerous leadership positions within the California Association of REALTORS, The Solano Association of REALTORS, The Solano REALTIST Association, The Vallejo Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s Council of REALTORS. She has served as Director At Large for the California Association of REALTORS and as a Director for the Black Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team for the Solano District Attorney. She has served as President of the Solano Association of REALTORS in 2013 and has been the recipient of many the prestigious awards, among them REALTOR OF THE YEAR IN 2012 and she was named Top Producer in 2007, 2008 and 2011. She received the coveted Spirit of Solano Award in 2016. She strongly believes in the power of collaboration to create and develop a better organization. She remains true to her values while daring to dream and give back to the community. Her clients and her colleagues have always appreciated her for her generosity, her courage and her genuine passion for navigating the complexity of issues our communities are facing. PASTOR DANNY JEFFERSON Pastor Danny Jefferson is the Senior Pastor of Rehoboth World Outreach Center in Vallejo, CA. He is blessed with the distinct honor of succeeding his father, Superintendent Perless Jefferson, Sr. who is the Founder of Rehoboth Church, and served as Pastor for 50 years. Under Pastor Jefferson’s pastoral leadership, Rehoboth has experienced tremendous growth. Pastor Jefferson’s passion is Transformation. – transforming individual lives and transforming our cities and communities. And thus, many ministries, departments, programs and services have been added to the church to fulfill this mandate. Pastor Jefferson matriculated through Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA and Sacramento Theological Seminary, earning a Bachelor degree. Currently, he is a Master of Arts degree Candidate at Trinity Theological Seminary, Newburgh, IN. Pastor Jefferson has been involved with community activism for many years. Through Rehoboth Community Transformation Corporation (RCTC), he established many community programs to address the needs of families in the surrounding community. In 2006, Pastor Jefferson and RCTC completed New Life Community Transformation Center, the home of Kids Kingdom Child Development Center, Royal Employment Services, and administrative offices. RCTC also adopted John Finney High School, a continuation high school for Vallejo youth, providing support services to administration and students. Pastor Jefferson is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, where he serves as Western Region Chaplain. In 2007, he founded Vallejo Faith Organization (VFO) and serves as President. VFO has made significant impact on the City of Vallejo and continues to do so in the areas of City Government, Vallejo Schools, and the Marketplace, advancing the cause of Jesus Christ for city transformation. Currently, Pastor Jefferson is the President of the Community Democratic Club of Solano County (CDC). The CDC is one of the largest Democratic Clubs in the county and is a force for change! Additionally, Pastor Jefferson was elected Vice President of the Vallejo Branch of NAACP. Pastor Jefferson serves Northern California First Jurisdiction Church Of God In Christ, Bishop Albert Galbraith, Prelate, as Jurisdictional Secretary and District Superintendent of the Holy Ghost District. Pastor Jefferson has received numerous awards and recognitions for his pastoral leadership and community activism from organizations such as, California State Assembly, University of California at Davis, Solano County Board of Education, Solano County Fighting Back Partnership, Vallejo City Unified School District, and The City of Vallejo. He celebrates 26 years with his partner in ministry and life, Lady Camille Jefferson; and, they are the proud parents of three children – Morgan, DJ, and Junel. MAX TRUJILLO John “Max” Trujillo III was born and raised in Fairfield, Ca. A product of the public-school system, he was the first in his family to attend college and graduate. He received two Associates degrees from Solano Community College, his Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in African American Studies from The University of Texas at El Paso, and a Master of Arts in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University. Max has worked in Youth Development for almost 10 years. Starting out as a Youth Development Professional for the Boys & Girls Club of El Paso, then the Teen Coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club of Napa Valley in American Canyon. He currently works for Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill where he is the Upward Bound Program Coordinator. In his role as Program Coordinator he works with first generation low income high school students to prepare them for college, and life after college. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. where he currently serves as the Vice President, implementing programs to better serve the youth in and around Solano County. RONALD PAGE II Professor Page has been teaching Mathematics at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) since 2012. He is the 1st and only Black Full-Time Tenured Math Faculty member in the Mathematics Department since the college’s existence in 1935. Page has ventured down a windy road to teaching after completing K-12 schooling in Vallejo, CA and going on to complete a Bachelor’s of Arts in Applied Math with a minor in African-American Studies at UC Berkeley. While at CAL, Page conducted undergraduate research in math on campuses of UC San Diego, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore Labs, contributing to scientific articles as well as presentations on his work nationwide. Shortly after the passing of his father, Page began and completed his Master of Science in Applied Math at CSU East Bay. It was at this time that Page began to hone in on his love for teaching young and not so young adults. At CCSF Page has contributed to the department, not only by teaching courses from basic arithmetic to Calculus, but also by leading Panel discussions on African-American experiences in Math and Science. Page currently is the Math Bridge Coordinator, as well as, the creator of a recently launched, Math Mentoring Program for Basic Skills students at the college. With CCSF fully accredited staff assistance and through the offering of free tuition this Fall to California residents, Page expects to continue to help students navigate through the language and culture of Math for many years to come. DR. ALEXIS PATTERSON Alexis Patterson, Ph.D., earned her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and her Master’s degree from Stanford University. She received her doctorate in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education in Science from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Patterson worked in Oakland Unified School District as a tutor and an assistant director of an after- school program, as a middle school science teacher, and as an intervention instructor at an elementary school. In addition to Oakland’s public schools, she has worked in private and charter school settings. Dr. Patterson earned her Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from CSU East Bay. Dr. Patterson is currently an Assistant Professor at UC Davis in their School of Education and teaches elementary science methods to teacher credential candidates amongst other courses. Her research lies at the intersection of equity studies, social psychology, and science education. Recent projects have focused on equity issues that arise when students work together on group projects in science and the role social-emotional skills play in facilitating equitable interactions between students. Driving her research endeavors is her desire to create learning environments that are equitable and engaging for students from historically marginalized and underserved backgrounds. Dr. Patterson has been recognized for her scholarship in the area of science education and was selected to be a Faculty Scholar for UC Davis’ Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS). REVEREND DR. DANTE R. QUICK Reverend Dr. Quick was born and reared in Washington, D.C. He relocated to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-law. While at Morehouse, he was one of the first recipients of the William H. Cosby Grant for Landmark College’s gifted-dyslexic student program. Reverend Dr. Quick accepted his call to ministry under the Pastorate of the Reverend Dr. Aaron L. Parker of the Zion Hill Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. In response to his commitment to serve God, Dr. Quick received a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He was the recipient of the Jean Anne Swope and James L. Mechem Prize in Christian Ethics. He served as the President of the Association of Black Seminarians, an organization that represents all Princeton seminarians of the African Diaspora. Pastor Quick also served on numerous student/faculty committees and as a Graduate Chaplain for the African-American students at Princeton University. He published his first article entitled, “The Relevance of Race,” in The Princeton Theological Review and is a contributor to The African- American Lectionary. Dr. Quick has served both the church and the academy in several capacities. In 2006, he was called to serve New Liberation Presbyterian Church in San Francisco which experienced phenomenal growth in attendance and internal love. In addition, Quick served as a Policy Analyst for ITC/Faithfactor, a Presidential Initiative of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. In that capacity, he developed and delivered training materials and programs to aid African-American churches and leaders in engaging in community development programming. Secularly, Reverend Dr. Quick has served in the offices of Mayor Marion Barry, Congressman John Lewis and Governor Zell Miller. He also served as the Legislative Representative for the Atlanta Board of Education. In these capacities, he has addressed audiences at the National Conference of Black Mayors, The World Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of Black Men. He also served as the Special Programs Administrator for the Fulton County District Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Dr. Quick relocated to the Bay area to pursue a Ph.D. in Philosophical and Systematic Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, as well as African-American Studies. Upon his acceptance, he was awarded the President’s Award and the William Randolph Hearst Scholarship. His studies are focused on the theology of Howard Thurman and the political philosophy of Ralph Bunche en route to the construction of an African-American political theology. He was the first appointed Howard Washington Thurman Teaching Fellow at the American Baptist Seminary of the West where he was responsible for teaching Constructive and Systematic Theology and Ethics. He was also one of only twelve Ph.D. students selected as a Walbash/Teagle Religious Educator Fellow at the Graduate Theological Union. He also served as the student representative to the Graduate Theological Union Board of Trustees. On September 8th, 2017, Reverend Dr. Quick was conferred with his Ph.D in Philosophical and Systematic Theology with a focus on African American Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, University of California at Berkeley. Reverend Dr. Dante R. Quick is the proud parent of Alexander Danté and Kennedy Danielle. VAJRA WATSON, ED.D. Dr. Watson is the UC Davis Director of Research and Policy for Equity. As a scholar-activist, moments of personal, communal, and inter/national trauma shape and inform the research questions that Dr. Watson asks, her research epistemology, and the methodological principles she relies upon to communicate findings that are accessible to broad and diverse audiences as an explicit act of intervention and organizing. In 2008, Watson founded Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), a social justice movement that breaks the barriers of underachievement by elevating the voices of students as the authors of their own lives and agents of change. She designed a training program that pairs community-based poet-mentor educators and teachers together to develop grassroots pedagogies that reimagine schooling (says.ucdavis.edu). Dr. Watson is the author of Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education (Routledge, 2012), Censoring Freedom (2013), Literacy is a Civil Write (2015), Life as Primary Text (2017), Transformative Schooling: Towards Racial Equity in Education (Routledge, 2018), among others. She is the recipient of the UCD Early Career Award, the Chancellor’s Individual Achievement Award for Diversity, and AERA’s Social Impact Award and Social Justice Leadership Award. Watson received her B.A. from UC Berkeley and her Doctorate from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Phone number: 707-652-3142 Fax number: 916-265-2274 Email: info@elitepublicschools.org Address: 100 Whitney Avenue, Vallejo, CA, 94589 SUBSCRIBE Sign up to receive news and updates. SIGN UP