As Dean for the College of Education at the University of Phoenix, Dr. Roggeman works to support new educators on their path to the classroom. She began her tenure as an AEF Board member in January 2018. Before Pam’s second career in teacher preparation began at Arizona State University in 2008, she was a high school English teacher in Pima County for almost two decades. In 1999, she was named an AEF Teacher of the Year Ambassador of Excellence. She is a lifetime supporter of and believer in Arizona public education.
Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick has been a member of AEF’s Board since 2012. In addition to being a clinical professor in the College of Education, Dr. Gilpatrick is the Associate Vice Provost of Statewide Initiatives & Alliances in the Academic & Workforce Alliances Division at NAU. She has served in a variety of leadership and teaching roles in higher education as well as PreK-12 grades: elementary ESL teacher, Reading department chair and AVID site leader in a middle school, ESL, Storytelling, and Education instructor at the Maricopa Community Colleges, a professor and the associate dean of Grand Canyon University’s College of Education.
She is passionate about creating culturally inclusive learning experiences that engage students in their own learning, refugee students’ educational experiences who speak English as an additional language, dual language immersion, early childhood education, restorative practices, multicultural books’ relevance on literacy skills, and family and community engagement.
She and her husband of 39 years have three adult children, a son and two daughters. Their weekends are filled with activities in their faith community, gardening, reading, going to the movies and spending time with family and friends.
Stephen Jordan served in senior leadership roles at Desert Financial Credit Union. He worked at credit unions in California and Arizona that historically had schools-based fields of memberships since 1992. He holds degrees in economics and political science from the University of California, Riverside. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Stephen has two grown children; a daughter who is a University of Arizona graduate and a son who is an Arizona State University graduate. He also has three step-daughters. Two are graduates of the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. The youngest starts her college journey at University of Arizona in the fall of 2024.
Deea McBride earned her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Political Systems from Northern Arizona University and her Master’s degree in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird). Deea recently retired from Wells Fargo after 28 years, and has experience in compliance management, finance, communications, program management, and training. Deea comes from a long line of educators and joined the AEF Board of Directors in the summer of 2015. She has served on numerous boards of directors and committees for Arizona’s nonprofit community and enjoys making a difference in Arizona schools through her work with AEF.
Michelle Doherty was a first-grade dual language teacher and mentor coach at Encanto Elementary in the Osborn School District for 25 years. She proudly invested her ENTIRE teaching career for the same district and the same school. Michelle was born and raised in Arizona and is a first-generation college graduate. She is continuing her love for teaching by supporting and mentoring new teachers in the Arizona Teachers Academy and is also an adjunct faculty member for Northern Arizona University. Michelle supports many inspiring programs within AEF, including the selection of Arizona Teacher of the Year, the A+ School of Excellence program, and Our World. Michelle was recognized at the Arizona Educational Foundation 2017 Arizona Teacher of the Year, the 2016-2017 Osborn School District Teacher of the Year, and the 2015 Chicanos Por La Causa Esperanza Latino Teacher of the Year. Michelle received her B.A. in Early Childhood Education and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in reading and early childhood education from Arizona State University. She feels it is a privilege and an honor to work in the field of education and is most passionate about providing a quality education for all.
Jodi Chesbro has been teaching Language Arts to seventh and eighth graders in Arizona for over 30 years. An Arizona Teacher of the Year Ambassador for Excellence, Jodi has worked with AEF since she earned the honor in 1996. Not only passionate about students and teaching, Jodi works with the AEF A+ School of Excellence program. “I love visiting fabulous schools across the state and stealing ideas. Observing top-notch teachers in the classroom is the best professional development.” She also worked on the national level with the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools for 4 years. In 2017, she was named the Deer Valley Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year. In her free time, Jodi travels and hikes with her husband John and furry son Buckely.
Washington Covena is a healthcare executive specializing in harmonizing process, people, marketing, and consumer engagement. His 25+ year career extends across business strategies, account management, organizational development, and learning strategy.
Washington lives in Goodyear, Arizona, with his wife Marisol and his two kids Denzel and Zoe. He is a graduate of Purdue University Global, a long-standing member of the Association for Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), and proudly serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Washington loves to travel, play golf, and is an avid runner.
Suzanne Durkin-Bighorn began her work in the community as a parent volunteer in the Tempe Union High School District. Her many years of service in the schools lead her to build a career in community relations, leadership development, strategic planning and capacity building, primarily focused in the nonprofit sector. With more than 10 years’ experience, Suzanne has also devoted her life to volunteer service, sitting on multiple boards, commissions, and committees. Durkin-Bighorn holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from ASU, with an undergraduate degree in Public Administration and Recreation Management. She and her husband Lyle reside in Tempe, they enjoy golf, ASU athletics, travel, and spending time with friends and family. They have two grown daughters that also live in Tempe.
Lindy is responsible for the academic programs and outreach efforts for the College of Education at Grand Canyon University. She and her team partner with many educational groups, both internal and external, to ensure standards-based curricula for all academic programs are focused on continuous improvement and aligned to appropriate standards for teacher certification. Dr. Gaudiano is honored to be a GCU employee for over 16 years, and work in the education field for 18 years.
Prior to transitioning to higher education and Grand Canyon University, she received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University and her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an Emphasis in Elementary Education Reading from Grand Canyon University before teaching in a first-grade classroom in the public-school environment. She recently completed her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2023. Dr. Gaudiano loves to collaborate on large projects with her team and other departments, teach education foundations, literacy and honors courses for the university, attend and present at national and local educational conferences, and be involved with all things highlighting the student experience within the college.
After meeting her husband, Jimmy, over 20 years ago at the University of Arizona, they have been married for over 15 years and have two mini GCU fans, their daughters Gigi (12) and Elle (10). On the weekends and in the evenings, they enjoy the outdoors playing golf and attending their girls’ many soccer games as they both play competitively around the Phoenix area. They enjoy traveling from coast to coast and are always planning a new adventure for their family to explore.
Matt Hesketh is a partner with Taft and represents businesses and public entities in high stakes litigation. Matt comes from a family of teachers, including his mother who taught in public schools for over 30 years. This led to Matt’s passion for promoting and celebrating achievements in public education.
Renee Levin previously served on AEF’s Board of Directors from 2009–2021 and later joined the staff from 2021 until her retirement in April 2025. Prior to her work with AEF, Renee spent 26 years at Intel Corporation, where she led the company’s community affairs strategy and engagement in Arizona. She developed and implemented Intel’s statewide outreach strategy and founded the East Valley STEM Alliance, a partnership between business and education leaders to expand opportunities for K–12 students. In her free time, Renee enjoys traveling, reading, paddleboarding, and scuba diving.
Amy Moore is the Director of Domestic Attack Programs at the Boeing Defense, Space and Security site in Mesa, Arizona. The Mesa site is home to Attack Helicopter programs and includes Strategic Fabrication Centers that produce electrical and composite sub-assemblies for a number of Boeing programs. Since joining Boeing in 1996, Amy has worked in Engineering, Business Development and International and Domestic Attack Programs. In her present role, she is responsible for leading the modernization, development and production of the AH-64E Apache and AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters for the United States Army.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University.
As Chief Marketing Officer for Desert Financial, Jeremy Nelson focuses on building a strong brand that supports financial education and well-being for the Arizona community. A veteran of the Credit Union industry, Jeremy has over 30 years working with credit unions and 20 years working in marketing leadership, building brands, and creating meaningful marketing campaigns to support financial products and services. Prior to moving to Arizona Jeremy received both an Undergraduate degree in Business Management and an MBA from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Utah.
Jeremy lives in Mesa with his wife Angie and their three daughters. He is passionate about supporting the community, giving back, and supporting educational efforts. He enjoys playing pickle ball, skiing, and traveling with his family.
Colleen L. Sauer is the Director of Accounting at the Phoenix corporate headquarters of Arizona Public Service, where she has devoted 25 years of accounting leadership and practice. She has extensive experience in financial accounting including business operations oversight of Pinnacle West, APS, Pinnacle West Power and other affiliate companies in the utility energy industry. She previously served as Treasurer on the Pinnacle West Political Action Committee Board and is the co-chair of the Employee Engagement Council. Colleen earned her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at Northern Arizona University, obtained her Master of Science in Accountancy at Southern New Hampshire University and completed her Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt at Purdue University. She is currently pursuing her PhD in business at the University of Arizona. Colleen is an avid sports fan, sharing a love for all Arizona teams, especially the Cardinals, Suns, and Diamondbacks.
Grant Smedley is the Director of Resource Planning, Acquisition, and Development at SRP. He oversees a team that is responsible for planning, acquiring, and developing the power generation resources needed to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable power to more than 1 million customers in the greater Phoenix area. He previously served in leadership roles in several functional areas within SRP including Water Resources, Power Delivery Engineering, Research & Development, and Environmental Policy. Prior to joining SRP, Grant began his career as an environmental consultant with Trinity Consultants. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Grant lives in Phoenix with his wife Janine and their two sons. He is passionate about public education and he, his wife, and children all attended public schools.
Arizona born and raised Christi Warner Beyer is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and community volunteer. Christi has dedicated over 40 years working as a leader in the non-profit arena and has helped raise millions for Arizona charities over the years. Early in her career, Christi developed residential and commercial planned communities in Arizona. She helped launch Environmental Integrated Technology (EIT), a full-service environmental consulting firm that handles assessments and remediation. Christi was president of EIT for 4 years and holds numerous U.S. Environmental Protective Agency certifications, endorsements and licenses. In 1989 Christi founded Warner Home Imports, an International design and manufacturing company that manufactured and imported from India, China, Thailand, Mexico and Indonesia. Some of Christi’s distinguished clients include COSTCO, Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware. In 2003 Christi sold Warner Home Accessories and started Warner Group, a consulting company, in order to spend more time with her children and now consults with companies looking to develop in Arizona and overseas. She has served on many boards and committees, including Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, Phoenix Theater, Phoenix Indian Center, Trends Charitable Fund, Heart Ball, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Two Pups Wellness Fund. She has chaired numerous charitable events, including Florence Crittenton, Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, Beat the Heat, Science Center Gala and Liberty Wildlife. Christi resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband Paul Beyer, their 19-year-old daughter Makaira, and their 16-year-old son Marshall.