Board Member Biographies
Steven Cogswell
Board Chair (Community Representative)
A product of the Los Angeles public school system and California State University at Los Angeles, Steve applied his business management degree to the creation of successful entrepreneurial enterprises in the motion picture production field and later in the creation of what became the nations second largest non-facilities-based cellular telephone service provider, a public utility having a presence in many Western states. He began his career as an advertising executive for a major international daily newspaper in New York City.
More recently, Steve has been engaged in offering management services to major private clients, in particular in the area of real estate investment portfolio management. This has included the oversight of hotel, national chain and local mall retail, and large-scale residential properties. In addition, Steve actively manages a specialized manufacturer of custom electronics used in motion picture production.
He has served on volunteer Boards of Trustees for over thirty-five years, often as President. His wife and he live in the Crescenta Valley area. Their two grown sons are following the family tradition in the entertainment business, one as a Vice President of MTV Networks in New York, the other as an active television director. Steves wife Michelle is on the staff of a small private school in San Gabriel.
Steven is pleased to participate at OCS because he supports the school's philosophy that with proper nurturing and sensitivity to individual talents, all children can attain learning success.
Jexy Wadle
Secretary (Parent Representative)
Jexy is a part-time literacy coach at an urban LAUSD high school and was a classroom teacher for 10 years before that. Her son Jacob is in the first grade and this is her family's second year at Odyssey.
Jexy entered teaching in 1993 as a corps member in the Teach For America Program. She is still working at the school at which she was originally placed by Teach for America. In 1999, Jexy earned her National Board Certification as a secondary language arts teacher. As a teacher, she was involved in her school’s accreditation process (similar to a chartering process) and was on the school reform governance committee.
Jexy was one of a small group of teachers who started a “school within a school” that focused on project-based instruction and interdisciplinary team-teaching. In her current job as a literacy coach, Jexy works with teachers to develop strategies and curriculum to improve reading and writing. She is also currently in a master’s program to get her credential in Educational Administration.
Before coming to Odyssey, Jexy was on the board of her son’s co-op nursery school. She was the board president for a year and a half and she was on the personnel committee for three years. Jexy was very involved with all aspects of running the school, including hiring employees, working with state licensing agencies, and serving as a liaison between parents and teachers. Jexy is very interested in seeing Odyssey continue to grow and improve. She feels that her experiences as a public school educator and as a nursery school board member have provided her with a unique insight that she will bring to the OSC Governing Board.
Bernadette Rodriguez
Treasurer (Community Representative)
Bernadette Rodriguez is an experienced independent management consultant; specializing in process redesign, quality improvement/measurement and strategic planning. Bernadette has extensive experience facilitating teams, developing data collection methodologies, and turning strategic goals in measurable frameworks in order to improve executive decision-making. She has worked with renowned organizations such as The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Citibank, Medtronic, Inc., and Allergan.
Her most recent endeavor, however, is running her real estate investment company, named ADANAC, LLC. The company focuses on the development of existing multifamily, retail, and mixed use properties located in targeted communities in Southern California. As a die-hard New Yorker, however, Bernadette has definite plans to add east coast holdings to the company's existing portfolio of properties.
Bernadette has a love for education and learning and used to be a kindergarten teacher in NYC prior to obtaining her MBA and embarking upon her entrepreneurial projects. She has consistently volunteered her time as a tutor and/or mentor through community organizations such as BizWorld, Peace Games, and Upward Bound.
Bernadette received her B.A. in Psychology and Premedical Studies at Columbia University and received her M.B.A., specializing in healthcare management and finance, at The Wharton School of Business.
Jennifer Fisher
Member(Community Representative)
Jennifer Fisher is corporate attorney for Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, the leading provider of building valuation software, data and technologies to the appraisal, assessor and property insurance industries. Unlike many attorneys, she passionately enjoys practicing law and is responsible for setting the company's overall philosophy and strategy regarding legal matters, including providing advice and counsel to company managers, preparing and reviewing agreements, managing the company's intellectual property portfolio, overseeing corporate compliance and managing risk.
Jennifer currently serves as Chair of the National Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division and is a life member of the National Bar Association and the California Association of Black Lawyers. Her other professional and community affiliations include, the Association of Corporate Counsel, Los Angeles Urban League, Library Foundation of Los Angeles' Young Literati, Langston Bar Association, Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Corporate Counsel Women of Color and the City Club on Bunker Hill where she serves on the Future 54 Committee.
A native Chicagoan, Jennifer is a graduate of Harvard University and The University of Chicago Law School and grew up in Orange County before it was hip and called "The OC." Prior to joining MSB, Jennifer survived practicing corporate & securities law as an associate at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, one of the world's largest law firms.
Emily Brockman
Member (Faculty Representative)
Emily Brockman is very excited to be starting her fourth year at Odyssey Charter School and her seventh year as an Inclusion Specialist. Emily came to Odyssey from the Alhambra Unified School District, where she worked with a diverse population of learners in several elementary schools. Education is a second career for Emily. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia, worked as a paralegal coordinator and human resource manager for a law firm, and then became actively involved in her children's education. She earned her Education Specialist, Level I Credential in 2002 and will complete her Level II credential at CSUN this year. Emily had the opportunity to student teach at Chime Charter School in Northridge, a model for inclusive education. She is a firm believer in differentiated instruction, cooperative learning and the inclusive classroom.
Robert Bravo
Member (Community Representative)
Bob is currently Coordinator in the Charter Schools Division of the Los Angeles Unified School District. In that role he is responsible for ensuring that 22 of the over 140 charter schools in Los Angeles are adhering to their charters and the law. Additionally, Bob assesses Proposition 39 requests for facilities. He is working on a doctoral degree in the UCLA Educational Leadership Program, returning to UCLA after obtaining his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees there in 1990 and 1991.
Prior to their move to Pasadena this year, Bob and his wife Mary Beth lived in the San Francisco Bay area where Bob has been a teacher, high school principal, and assistant superintendent.
Kathleen O'Sullivan
Member (Community Representative)
Kathleen O’Sullivan has served as the National Director of EdVisions Schools, leading the replication of their innovative secondary school model. Kathleen is a dynamic speaker and is known for her ability to inspire and mobilize critical stakeholders to act. She is also considered the ultimate “Resource Choreographer” for her ability to creatively leverage a wide array of resources in new ways to make things happen.
Kathleen’s vision is to bring together education and industry to ensure that our youth have access to 21st Century Learning and multiple pathways to success. Her purpose and passion is to make a difference in how we prepare our young people to compete in an ever-changing world of work. She earned her reputation as a pioneer and leader in the charter school movement as the Founder and past Executive Director of Odyssey Charter School and her legislative advocacy for charter schools statewide. Her commitment and leadership in bringing a new relevance to learning at Odyssey grew out of her experience in the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors in workforce development, her role as a parent and her work with special needs children in foster care and residential treatment. The charter venture demanded endless persistence and diplomacy with a multitude of organizations – federal, state, local and private, as well as elected officials at all levels of government. Her story was one of 13 nationwide chosen to be featured in “Leading on the Ground: Adventures of Charter School Creators.” Kathleen has been a presenter on creating 21st century learning environments at conferences in the U.S., United Kingdom, China and Taiwan.
Kathleen is a recognized leader in her local community. She received a Eureka-Communities Fellowship Award in 2003 in recognition of her dedication, commitment and community service. Kathleen was honored by the YWCA as a Woman of Excellence in Education for 2006. She serves on a number of boards, including the executive board of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Pasadena. Kathleen also serves as a volunteer for W.A.S.C. (Accrediting Commission for Schools).
Rick Bischoff
Member (Community Representative)
Rick has been the Director of Admissions at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in Pasadena, California since the summer of 2004. Prior to assuming the chief admissions officer role at Caltech, Rick began his admissions career as an Associate Director of Admissions at Macalester College, his alma mater, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Most recently he served as an Associate Director of Admissions/Director of Recruitment Strategy at the University of Chicago.
Rick is a frequent conference speaker on technology in admissions and is often invited by high schools across the country to speak on the college search, admissions process and essay writing. Rick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Macalester College and an MBA in Information Systems from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Tammy Godley
Vice Chair(Community Representative)
Tamerlin Godley is a partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, handling complex business litigation matters and specializing in trademark and copyright litigation. She has handled intellectual property cases for many clients, including MGM, ABC, Warner Brothers and its affiliates, Universal, Artists Management Group and 1-800 Contacts. In the course of these representations, she has had the opportunity to work closely with some of the leading scholars in both the copyright and trademark arenas.
Ms. Godley graduated from UCLA with a double major in English and Political Science, obtained a Masters Degree in English from Cal State Northridge, and taught in South Central Los Angeles before going to law school. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1996, Order of the Coif, where she was a notes editor of the Law Review and a writing instructor for first year law students. Prior to joining Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Ms. Godley clerked for Judge Harry L. Hupp in the federal district court, Central District of California.
Ms. Godley is actively involved in the community, having been elected to the South Pasadena School Board, on which she served for four years.. She previously served on the Primary Center Task Force for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which brought together the expertise of community members and district personnel to build the only school facilities completed by LAUSD in the 1990’s. She also served on the Rampart Independent Review Panel, which investigated and analyzed the Los Angeles Police Department’s discipline and oversight practices and put forth recommendations for improvement after the Rampart Division scandals. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Odyssey Charter School Governing Board, a member of the Development Committee for the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts and involved with the Pasadena Educational Foundation.
Susan Ruffins
Member (Parent Representative)
Susan Ruffins has been a parent at Odyssey Charter School for eight years and has served twice on the OCS governing board. She is currently on the board as the 4th-8th grade parent representative.