- Current Policy Adviser to Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce
- Former Arizona Legislator District 18
- Former House of Representatives Majority Leader for the Republican Caucus
- Former Vice Chair of the Rules Committee
- Has served on the Education and Appropriations committees for 3 years
- Vice Chair of the Health and Services Committee for 2 years
- Former Chairman of the Higher Education, Innovation and Reform Committee
Steve Court currently serves as the policy adviser for Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce. He is a former Arizona Legislator District 18, House Majority Leader and Vice Chair of the Rules Committee. Representative Court was born and raised in Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a major in Accounting.
In 1974, Representative Court moved to Arizona to work for Motorola. He spent 20 years with Motorola, working in Accounting and Financial Analysis. He started a small business in 1996 and after 10 years, sold the business to a son and retired.
Representative Court ran for the Arizona Legislature in 2008 and was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives, serving District 18. He was re-elected in 2010. He has served on the Education and Appropriations committees for 3 years, and was Chairman of the Higher Education, Innovation and Reform committee during this past legislative session. Representative Court was recently elected by the Republicans in the House of Representatives to serve as the Majority Leader.
Representative Court and his wife, Susan, have been married for 32 years, are the proud parents of four children, and the proud grandparents of ten grandchildren.
- Master’s degree in Public Policy
- Director: Governor’s Office of Education Innovation
- Sits on several state-level committees: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Task Force
- State-Wide Longitudinal Data System Task Force
- Executive Council Advisor for the Arizona Alternative Education Consortium (AZ AEC)
- Former: Vice President of the Arizona Charter Schools Association
Rebecca is currently the Director of the Governor’s Office of Education Innovation. As a Director, she is involved with implementing Arizona’s Education Reform plan – designed to develop performance management strategies at all levels of the education system, raising the bar for students and providing resources to meet that bar, coordinates the education reform efforts with the Arizona Department of Education, the Arizona Board of Education, parents, districts, and the business community. As part of her role, she oversees the Governor’s P-20 Education Council to drive improved classroom performance and transparency, while respecting local control, and assists the Governor’s Chief of Staff and the Governor of Arizona in developing goals, strategies, and metrics related to meeting Arizona’s education and workforce needs.
Rebecca Gau has an extensive background in quantitative analysis of education policy issues, change management and survey research. She was a senior analyst at Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University for five years; an analyst with Anderson Consulting; an intern at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, specializing in charter schools and education policy. Her research has been published in journals, textbooks on education policy and newspapers. She served as the Vice President of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, where she focused upon strategic planning, business development, and research and data analysis regarding the effect of charter schools on student achievement. At the Arizona Charter Schools Association she used an innovative “value-added” growth model for analyzing growth in student achievement and school quality, producing Success Measured: Four Fundamental Elements of Student Level Growth. This model was recently adopted statewide for all public schools as part of the Arizona State Student Accountability system.
Rebecca sits on several state-level committees, including the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Task Force and the State-Wide Longitudinal Data System Task Force, and is the Executive Council Advisor for the Arizona Alternative Education Consortium (AZ AEC).
Rebecca received her Master’s Degree in public policy from Duke University and wrote her master’s thesis, which was named Outstanding Thesis of the Year, on charter schools in Dayton, Ohio.
Mrs. Montano brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Paideia Academy mission of serving the whole child and family. She has a Master’s degree of Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting both from Arizona State University.
Mrs. Montano has used her time, talents, and expertise to better our community. She currently serves and the Prevention Director for Community Bridges in Mesa Arizona. Her duties and experience include:
- Overseeing and ensuring successful management and implementation of all Prevention staff, programs and contracts within schools and communities.
- Securing and managing Local, State and Federal grant projects. Has managed up to 9 funding streams simultaneously.
- Project Director for the Mesa Prevention Alliance community coalition targeting population of 470,000, addressing youth substance use.
- Leading legislative initiatives to develop statewide policies to encourage reductions in youth alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD).
- Developing and maintaining partnerships with community groups and organizations throughout Arizona.
- Ensuring the maintenance, completion and submission of all reports required by licensing, funding, governmental, and other regulatory units in a timely manner
- Assuring that program quality and activities at each site are monitored through direct supervision to assess individual and group progress.
- Monitoring performance; establishing program performance standards and goals and objectives in conjunction with program coordinators
We are so blessed to have Joronda Montano on the Governing Board of the Paideia Academies
Mr. Robert Young comes to Paideia Academy as a long-time friend and visionary. Mr. Young has assisted Dr. Winsor from the very beginning in developing the vision and implementation of the Paideia Family Resource Center. His love for South Phoenix families and connections with a wide variety of service providers make him a perfect addition to the Paideia Governing Board.
Mr. Young has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and mathematics from Hampton University in Virginia and a Master of Arts degree in management and human resources from Babson College, School of Executive Education, Wellesley, MA
- Program director of Tanner Community Development Corporation
- Owner and CEO R.L. Young Associates, LLC
- Executive-level Cultural Competency an Diversity professional with 30 years of experience in the consumer photographic, aerospace, and computer industries specializing in developing strategic diversity management strategies to align with overall business plans and operations.
- Experienced in large scale initiatives and deployment of diversity education and training strategies for populations in excess of 30,000 employees.
- Broad based knowledge of Human Resources and Organization Development.
- Experienced in the development of non-profit and community based organizations.
- Certified diversity trainer, workshop leader, consultant and a national diversity speaker.