Board of Directors
Jannelle Kubinec, President
Bay Area, CA
Chief Executive Officer, WestEd. Previously, Kubinec directed the California Comprehensive Center, a federally funded technical assistance center charged with building the capacity of California to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act and close the student academic achievement gap. She also served as fiscal and policy adviser on school finance issues to the California Legislature while at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office and has worked with federal, state and local education agencies providing support in the areas of school finance, management, strategic planning, special education and technology planning. Kubinec is chair of EdSource’s Nominating Committee and its Leadership Transition Committee. She is president of the EdSource board.
Jim Boren
Fresno, CA
Jim Boren is an award-winning journalist with more than four decades in the news business. An adjunct faculty member at Fresno State, he founded and runs the university’s Institute for Media and Public Trust, which works to improve media literacy, develop strategies to identify fake news and find solutions to bridge the trust gap between media and news consumers. He also established a visionary student journalism program that trains young people of color to go into journalism. He retired from The Fresno Bee in 2018 after reaching the top newsroom position of executive editor and senior vice president. Boren serves on the board of the California Press Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners, which raises funds around the country to support local newsrooms. He is a strong supporter of education initiatives, and was a leader in The Fresno Bee’s involvement with Kirk Elementary School, participating in its homework and after-school programs.
Mary Jane Burke began her career in education in Marin County. She held a wide variety of positions including instructional assistant in special education, teacher, principal, special education director, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent. From 1994 through 2022, Burke was elected and served as the Marin County Superintendent of Schools. Burke has always believed in the importance of providing equitable educational opportunities for all children from birth to adulthood and that doing so requires strong partnerships with business, local government, law enforcement and community organizations. Burke serves on several boards, including WestEd and Dominican University.
President-Elect of the California State PTA. Ippolito holds a teaching credential, an administrative credential, and two masters degrees — one in curriculum development and the other in educational administration. She began her teaching career in Santa Clarita, California, where she taught fifth, sixth, and first grade, and also served as a district music teacher for two years. She has served at the unit, council, district and state levels in PTA and remains deeply proud to uphold the mission to benefit the lives of children and families across the state.
President of CORE and Chief Growth Officer for UnboundEd. He specializes in organizational development, performance management and leadership development. Previously, Sheffield was director of the quality schools and districts content area team at WestEd, responsible for growing capacity to improve outcomes for students in high-priority schools that primarily serve Black, Hispanic and low-income communities. Sheffield also led the district coaching and implementation services for the College Board’s SpringBoard program. In that role, he was part of the leadership team that added 1.1 million students to the program within four years. He started his career as a high school history teacher, and also served as district curriculum specialist. In addition to his K–12 teaching experience, he taught and supervised pre-service history/social science teachers at California State University, Long Beach.
President, Linked Learning Alliance. Stanton is the principal architect behind the Linked Learning movement, a coordinated effort at the intersection of education, industry and community to connect all youth to college, career, and purpose. Previously, she served as The James Irvine Foundation’s program director for youth and a key member of the California P-16 Council, a statewide assembly of education, business and community leaders charged with developing strategies to better coordinate, integrate and improve education for students in preschool through college. Stanton holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a master’s degree in social work from New York University. She is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management and the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Torres-Retana is the dean of Rosemead & Northwest Campuses and Educational Partnerships at Pasadena City College, providing student support programs and academic leadership while ensuring equitable and inclusive intimate communities. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. Torres-Retana previously served in various capacities at the University of Southern California including associate dean of student affairs, assistant dean/director of student judicial affairs and community, and director of El Centro Chicano. She holds an Ed.D. in higher education/higher education administration from the University of California; a Master’s of Public Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills; and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Whittier College.
Joel Vargas
Oakland, CA
Vice President, Jobs for the Future. Vargas leads the work of JFF’s high-school-through-college team. He also researches and advises on state policies to promote improved high school and postsecondary success for underserved students. Since joining JFF in 2002, Vargas has designed and implemented a research and state policy agenda for implementing early college designs; created policy frameworks, tools, and model legislation; written and edited white papers, research, and national publications; provided technical assistance to state task forces and policy working groups and served on a number of national advisory groups.
