Buzz Woolley, the founder of Girard Foundation, is a retired venture capitalist and entrepreneur who has devoted decades to improving the quality of education in the San Diego area. Buzz was the co-founder of Connect, a local San Diego nonprofit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. Buzz brings this spirit of innovation to his educational work with the Girard Foundation — he has served as Chairman of the Board since 1986. He is also the co-founder and former Chairman of Voice of San Diego, the first digital nonprofit news organization in the country.

Dede Alpert is an education innovator with a background in policy-making and educational law. She represented the San Diego region in the California Legislature from 1991-2004, serving three terms in the Assembly and two in the Senate. During this time, Dede was widely recognized as one of the Legislature’s foremost experts on public education and chaired the education committees in both houses. Prior to her election to the California State Legislature, Alpert served on the Solana Beach School Board for seven years. In addition to her work with the Girard Foundation, Dede currently serves on the boards of Sharp Healthcare and Price Philanthropies.

Michele Hansen brings a passion for education innovation and a depth of experience in business and technology to her work as Vice Chair of the Girard Foundation. As a former first grade teacher, an executive at the California Charter Schools Association, and the co-founder of Activate Instruction — which has since evolved into Summit Learning — Michele sees educational issues through the eyes of an educator. Her years in marketing, business development and management roles at Intel Corporation help her bring corporate best practices to educational grant-making.

Dr. Elizabeth Robitaille has dedicated her professional life to ensuring kids have access to great educational programs that help them thrive and grow. As Chief Schools Officer for the California Charter Schools Association, Elizabeth helps schools innovate, improve educational quality, and close opportunity gaps. Before joining CCSA in 2007, she managed Los Angeles Universal Preschool’s flagship funding initiative and directed the Family Care division of Los Angeles Education Partnership, where she led initiatives to build stronger bonds between schools and communities and to overcome barriers to student learning.

Dr. Mary Walshok is an author, educator, researcher, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Programs and the former Dean of Extension at the University of California San Diego. She is a thought leader and subject matter expert on aligning workforce development with regional economic growth. Mary is the author of six books and more than 100 articles and reports on regional innovation and the role of research institutions in workforce development. As an industrial social scientist studying the dynamics of regional economic development and transformation, Walshok has studied communities across America and brings her knowledge of regional economic issues to her work on the Girard board as she advocates for educational reform.

Scott Woolley is a journalist and writer specializing in finance and technology. He worked for Forbes Magazine for 14 years as a reporter, editor and bureau chief. His work has also been published by Fortune, Slate, The Wall Street Journal and Ecco/HarperCollins. Scott’s work in the finance and tech sector gives him a keen eye for innovation in education. He has served as a board member of South Boston Harbor Academy, The Growing Place, and the Rose Institute.