Talk 3: Where are your tax dollars going?

Join us for Talk 4, a discussion about K-12 public education funding moderated by:

  • Pearl Chang Esau, Expect More Arizona.

Guest presenter and expert in the State of Education Funding:

  • Ken Bennett, Former Arizona Secretary of State

Panelists from both the District and Charter Schools will be:

  • Helen Hollands, Former Gilbert Public Schools Board Member, Current Director Communications & Marketing for Mesa Public Schools
  • Tom Wohlleber, CFO, Gilbert Public Schools
  • Eileen Sigmund, President/CEO, AZ Charter Schools Association
  • Erik Twist, Chief Innovation Officer & Sr. VP Advocacy, Great Hearts Academies

Recap of this Talk

Discussion include the following public education funding issues:

  • Equity & Quality: Is the money that AZ taxpayers spend on education leading to effective student learning?
  • How can the dollars that are going to education be spent as effectively as possible, and how do we know?
  • Are the dollars being equitably distributed to support opportunity and success for all students?

Talk 4 Agenda

  • Welcome
  • Gilbert Talks Mission
  • Moderator Introduction
    • Pearl Chang Esau
  • State of Education Funding
    • Ken Bennet
  • Panel Discussion Equity and Quality in Public Education Funding
    • Helen Hollands, Mesa Public Schools
    • Tom Wohlleber, Gilbert Public Schools
    • Eileen Sigmund, AZ Charter Schools Assn.
    • Erik Twist, Great Hearts Academies
  • Q & A
    • Tim Bricker
  • Table Talk
    • What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
    • What rubbed you the wrong way?  or What did you disagree with?
  • Table Talk Shares & Wrap Up
    • Open up for a few to share from their Table Talks.

Location Details
October 5, 2016
6:00 pm Food/Social
6:30-8:30 pm Program

St. Xavier University
92 W Vaughn Ave, Gilbert, AZ 85233

Hosted by Gilbert Talks Founders and the Gilbert Talks Advisory Board

RSVP by e-mail to [email protected]
There is no charge for the event.  We hope to see you there!

Speaker Biographies

Pearl Chang Esau
President and CEO of Expect More Arizona

Pearl Chang Esau is President and CEO of Expect More Arizona, a nonpartisan education advocacy organization building a movement of Arizonans in support of world-class education for all children. Prior to this role, she served as executive director of Teach For America – Phoenix. Pearl began her career in education teaching 5th grade English Language Learners in East Los Angeles. This opportunity inspired a life-long commitment to helping all students reach their potential through an excellent education.

Currently, Pearl serves on numerous boards including the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Teach for America – Phoenix, the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy, and the United Way of Northern Arizona. In 2014, Pearl received the Athena Young Professional Award from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. She has also been named by Arizona Business Magazine as one of the 50 most influential women in Arizona. Pearl graduated summa cum laude from the University of California – Los Angeles, is married to a public school principal and has two young children.

Ken Bennett
Businessman and Former Arizona Secretary of State

Ken is a fifth generation Arizonan. He is a businessman, and was CEO of Bennett Oil Company in Prescott for 23 years. He is on the Board of Directors of Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear and he works with companies developing energy efficient building technologies.

He served as Arizona’s Secretary of State for 6 years, and in the State Senate for 8 years, including 4 years as Senate President. He also served on the State Board of Education, the State Board for Charter Schools and on the Prescott City Council.

He and his wife Jeanne have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. He has an Accounting degree from ASU and is an Eagle Scout.

Helen Hollands
Director, Communications and Marketing, Mesa Public Schools

Helen Hollands is the director of communications and marketing for Mesa Public Schools. In her role Helen oversees public relations and customer service, internal and external communications, marketing, social media, educational television, printing and publishing, and web services. She serves as the district public information officer.

Helen served 12 years as a governing board member for Gilbert Public Schools, where she focused on instructional excellence to maximize student achievement.

Prior to joining Mesa Public Schools, Helen served as the director of advancement for the College of Innovation and Technology at Arizona State University.

Helen has served on the board of several community non-profit organizations, including Gilbert Fine Arts Association, Arizona Alliance for Arts Education and the Angels Charitable Foundation, which she cofounded.

Helen holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Cornell University and enjoyed an early career in the food and beverage and oil industries.

Tom Wohlleber
Chief Financial Officer for Gilbert Public Schools in Gilbert, Arizona

Tom Wohlleber is the Chief Financial Officer for Gilbert Public Schools in Gilbert, Arizona.  He served as a school business official in Wisconsin for 30 years prior to assuming the CFO position in Gilbert.  Tom has a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse with majors in Business Administration and Economics and a M.S. Ed. degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater in School Business Management.

Tom is a past president of both the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) and Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association (WSSCA).  He has received WASBO’s two highest honors, the Wallace E. Zastrow Award and Wisconsin School Business Official of the Year.  In 2010, Tom was awarded the Distinguished Professional Eagle Award from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International.  Tom was honored by WSSCA as the 2014 Wisconsin School Safety Coordinator of the Year.

Tom serves as a faculty member with the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research for their Certified School Risk Manager program.  He has served on the faculty at Edgewood College and UW-Whitewater in their Educational Administration graduate programs.

Tom currently serves on the Board of Directors for ASBO International.

Eileen Sigmund
President and CEO, Arizona Charter Schools Association

Since joining the Association in June 2007, Eileen led the Association in notable efforts including: developing a model that measures “value-added” growth in achievement, which is used for A-F rankings of all Arizona schools; creating trainings that enable teachers and school leaders to collaboratively use data; launching joint purchasing programs; filing lawsuits for equitable funding for all K-12 students; increasing positive public perceptions of charters; and, building a comprehensive program to support prospective charter school operators.

In 2013, Eileen launched the separate nonprofits of New Schools For Phoenix which recruits and trains leaders to open high quality schools for low-income Phoenix students and the Center for Student Achievement which is focused on high-quality school improvement initiatives, with a particular emphasis on professional development and the publication of rigorous and transparent research and evaluation.

Eileen has a strong advocacy background, having served as a journalist, litigator, and lobbyist. Eileen is an Education Fellow in the two-year Fall 2013 cohort of Pahara-Aspen Education Fellows; a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chamber Commerce & Industry, and on the Advisory Council of the Charter Schools Development Corporation.

Erik Twist
Chief Innovation Officer and Sr. VP of AZ Advocacy for Great Hearts Academies

Erik Twist currently serves as Chief Innovation Officer and Sr. VP of AZ Advocacy for Great Hearts Academies, a public charter management organization operating K-12 classical, liberal arts schools in Arizona and Texas. He has taught history and English in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, was the founding headmaster of Archway Veritas a K-5 academy in the Great Hearts network, and served as a Vice President at Great Hearts overseeing all of their K-5 academies across the Valley. He has a BA in Political Science from Trinity University and a BTh (MDiv) from Oxford University. He and his wife, Allison, have six sons and live in Phoenix.

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