Overview
RVC is the creation of local public school teachers and public school parents. It is governed by a Board of Directors made up of parents and education and business professionals. Three of the board members are representatives of RVC teachers and parents.
Board Members
- Sharon Sagar, Chair, Community Member - Term expires 12/31/2023; contact: sharon.sagar@rossvalleycharter.org
- Charis Denison, Teacher Representative - Term expires 12/31/2023; contact: charis.denison@rossvalleycharter.org
- David De Andrade, Comunity Member - Term expires 12/31/2023; contact: david.deandrade@rossvalleycharter.org
- Amy Gramajo - Parent Member - Term expires 12/31/2023; contact: amy.gramajo@rossvalleycharter.org
- Deepti Manepalli, Parent Member - Term expires 12/31/2023; contact: deepti.manepalli@rossvalleycharter.org
Email all at rvcboard@rossvalleycharter.org.
Board Meetings
For a schedule of Regular Board Meetings and Meeting Agendas please visit here.
If you would like to be notified of upcoming meetings please send a request to info@rossvalleycharter.org
Board Members and Officers
Charis Denison, Community Member
Charis Denison is a Youth Advocate and teacher/consultant involved in the integration of Human Development, Ethics, and Social Justice. She has built her experience primarily partnering with schools, families, and organizations for the past 25 years. She has received national recognition for her work in several of these fields. Charis has been on the faculty of the Urban School of San Francisco, Branson, and Marin Academy.
Charis currently runs Prajna Consulting. Through Prajna, she partners with schools, teens, families, organizations, and communities around the issues of Human Development, Social Justice, and Ethics and the essential connection between those topics.
Charis and Scott Hummel’s two children both graduated from Manor’s MAP program and both have volunteered extensively in connection with the program. Charis also served as board member and president of several boards in the Bay Area dealing with education and social justice.
Amy Gramajo - Parent Member
Term expires 6/30/23
Born in San Francisco, Amy grew up in San Rafael and graduated from San Rafael high school. She has worked for the County of Marin The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program and currently works for a private OBGYN office in Greenbrae. Amy served as a member of board of the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children Center (FSACC) for 2 years and is bi-lingual. Amy has three children, two of whom are students who attend Ross Valley Charter, and third who is preschool age. Amy lives in San Rafael with husband Arturo Torres, who works for Richard Osorio Heating and Air conditioning. (FSACC).
Deepti Manepalli - Parent Member
Deepti is a physical therapist working in Kentfield for the last 9 years. She is an orthopedic clinical specialist and is working on her geriatric specialty. Originally from India, Deepti has been in the United States for 16 years. She is an avid artist, creator, and collaborates with her mother, who is an author published in India, in translating her stories to English. She lives in San Rafael with her husband and two sons, the older of whom is a first grader in RVC. She is actively involved in her neighborhood as a block captain and helps organize various events and loves to give back to the community.
Sharon Sagar, Chair - Community Member
Sharon Sagar previously served on the Ross Valley School District Board of Trustees for 14 years. She served as School Board President, and on almost every districtwide committee at some point over those 14 years. In addition, Sharon served in many capacities as a parent volunteer including as Site Council President and PTA President, and on many fundraising committees. Some of the many district and countywide committees that Sharon has served on include Budget Committee, Superintendent Search, Policy committee, Strategic Planning Committee, negotiations representative, Facilities Committee, District English Language Advisory Committee, District Round Table, Safe Routes to Schools, YES Foundation board representative, Marin County Joint Legislative Advisory Representative, Wellness Committee, Tech Committee, and Marin County School Board representative. Sharon worked on several parcel tax and bond campaigns for the Ross Valley School District. Sharon also served as co- president of the Marin Education Task Force, a collaborative network of schools feeding into the Tamalpais Union High School District. Sharon has taken the California School Boards Masters in Governance training program twice. Sharon was an active founding member of the Innovative Learning Community/MAP and values offering educational choice to the families of the Ross Valley School District. She is committed to collaborative decision-making and partnerships between administration, teachers and parents in public education. Sharon currently works in a school business office.
Other Officers
Page Hersey, EdD, School Director - Board President
Dr. Page Hersey began her career as a multi-age classroom teacher and deeply believes in RVC’s philosophy of nurturing each student’s curiosity and development through a multi-age, inquiry-based approach. In her over 20 years in education, she has worked as a classroom teacher in grades 1-4, a literacy specialist, and most recently, as a professor of education preparing new teachers. She holds a Master's in Language and Literacy from San Francisco State University and a Doctorate in Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. Page is a passionate human rights educator and integrates issues of human rights and social justice into her work.
Dr. Hersey lives with her family in Fairfax, and her son is an RVC student. She enjoys cooking for family and friends and hiking in the Marin hills.
Elizabeth Ellis, Office Manager - Board Secretary
For the last six years, Elizabeth has served as the Administrative and Communications Coordinator for the YES Foundation in Ross Valley. She has also served in various roles in Marin businesses and nonprofits. Her connection to the local area is strong, and she has much experience serving families in our community.
Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Art History from the University of Colorado. She lives in Fairfax and her two children, now in middle school, went through the MAP program.
Chris Lyons - Teacher Liaison Officer
Chris Lyons teaches a 4th/5th grade class at Ross Valley Charter. She taught in MAP for nine years before the program was terminated by the District, and previously taught in the Dixie School District, for a total of 22 years of elementary teaching experience. Chris has taught all of the elementary grades, kindergarten through fifth. She has served on School Site Councils, District Advisory Teams, and numerous district committees. She has also been a mentor teacher, taught a class for Marin County's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (“BTSA”) program, and received a Golden Bell award. She has been trained at the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University in New York, and has also attended professional development workshops in Project Based Learning and Childhood Creativity. Chris served as president of the San Anselmo Cooperative Nursery School when her children were students there. Both her sons are MAP program graduates.