Board of Trustees

We provide each student with rigorous and relevant academic and workplace skills in order to prepare graduates for rewarding lives in an increasingly diverse and information-rich society.  -- Chet Pipkin, Founding Board President

 

Jo Webber, Board President
jwebber@davincischools.org

Dr. Jo Webber is a serial entrepreneur and experienced board member. She has a PhD in Quantum Physics and has authored seven fintech patents. She is currently the Founder and CEO of Pod Network LLC and the President of STEMconnector which includes the Million Women Mentors Movement. She serves on the board of Edlio LLC, a Los Angeles based EdTech company and on the board of Redondo Ballet, a 501c3 organization. Jo is a Fellow of the Ponemon Group – a research think tank dedicated to cybersecurity. A lifelong technologist, Jo started writing code while at university creating the first interface between a large ab-initio quantum mechanics computer program and a graphics monitor that allowed the complex molecular electron density calculations to be shown on 3D models for the first time. She has served as the CEO of five technology companies since 2003, and has served on 14 boards – mostly in the tech sector. Jo is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist. A Wiseburn resident, she is the parent of two Da Vinci students.

brian-meath

Brian Meath, Board Treasurer
bmeath@davincischools.org

 

Brian Meath has been a longtime supporter of Da Vinci Schools and the Wiseburn Unified School District, having served as an elected member of Wiseburn's Board of Trustees from 1997 through 2010, including serving as its President three times. He has served as Board Treasurer on the Da Vinci Schools Board of Trustees since 2013. Brian has been with Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein LLP, an accounting and business management firm, since 1987. He specializes in payroll compliance audits for large multi-employer trust funds, working primarily with advertising agencies and television and theatrical production companies. He also has experience in training and implementing Compliance Audit Programs for clients, as well as conducting fraud investigations and negotiating settlements on behalf of clients. Brian graduated with highest honors from UC Santa Barbara and received his MBA, with an emphasis in Finance, from UC Berkeley. Brian brings a broad range of expertise in financial planning, budgeting, and compliance to Da Vinci Schools.

derrick-boston

Derrick Boston, Trustee
dboston@davincischools.org

 

Derrick Boston is an accomplished business leader and attorney with more than 30 years of experience as a co-founder and manager of technology companies, including start-up, emerging growth and venture-backed companies. Derrick currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Entertainment Partners. Prior to Entertainment Partners, he was Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for Virgin Orbit, Virgin's satellite launch division, and Executive Vice President, Business Development & General Counsel for Panavision. Derrick received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College magna cum laude. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Derrick has served as outside general counsel to both public and private companies, advising on sophisticated corporate transactions, C-suite and board-level engagement and advice, change management, performance improvement, team building, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, cybersecurity, business policy development and corporate governance. Derrick brings with him in-depth knowledge of legal, executive leadership, management, finance, operations, and strategic and tactical planning. He is the parent of two Da Vinci students -- a daughter at Da Vinci Science and a son who is a Da Vinci Science graduate.

ray-santiago

Ray Santiago, Board Vice President
rsantiago@davincischools.org

 

Growing up in Paulsboro and Camden, New Jersey, Raynaldo "Ray" Santiago, Jr. always wanted to be an astronaut but he never envisioned he would become a trailblazer in the aerospace industry. Today, Ray is Chief Engineer for Thermal Products at The Boeing Company, and an industry expert in passive thermal control for satellite and space applications. Ray is an Associate Technical Fellow in the Boeing Technical Fellowship Program, an elite group of the top technical minds at Boeing, representing less than two percent of its workforce. In addition to his technical contributions over the past 22 years, Ray is a committed mentor to early career engineers and minorities in engineering through his affiliations with Boeing Black Employees Association, National Society of Black Engineers, and Minority Engineering Educational Task at Rutgers University where he earned his Bachelors' degree in Aerospace Engineering. A resident of Wiseburn, Ray is an engaged community leader and volunteer setting an example for youth on the playing field and off. He brings broad leadership experience and a passion for advancing diversity and inclusion.

Raul Ochoa, Board Secretary
rochoa@davincischools.org

 

Raul Ochoa has more than 20 years of experience as a mechanical engineer with an emphasis on airborne electronics, mechanical design, thermal and stress analyses. He currently serves as Manager of Mechanical Engineering at Teledyne Controls in El Segundo, where he manages a team of engineers and works on the development of flight avionics hardware for aircraft. Raul is the recipient of two engineering awards for innovation and excellence. A longtime Hollyglen resident who is active in the community, Raul has two children attending Wiseburn Unified Schools. He holds a master's degree in engineering, mechanics of structures from UCLA and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cal State Fullerton.

Leslie Heimov, Trustee
lheimov@davincischools.org

 

Leslie Starr Heimov has served as the Executive Director of Children’s Law Center of California (CLC) since 1992. She began her legal career at CLC as a staff attorney, providing direct representation to parents and children in the dependency system, and later moved to a supervising attorney position. In 2004, Ms. Heimov became CLC’s first Policy Director, responsible for CLC’s legislative and policy agendas. In 2007, Ms. Heimov was named Executive Director and under her leadership, CLC expanded its programs to include representation of children in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Placer counties utilizing a multidisciplinary model of representation. She has worked tirelessly to promote best practices for multidisciplinary legal representation and improve outcomes for children and their families in the child welfare system.

Student Board Advisors

2023-24

We are honored to have 12 non-voting student advisors to the Board who provide their perspective and regular updates to ensure that our current and future students will be served well.

Isabella Dimeo (12th) Da Vinci Communications
Okikioluwa Ogunnaike (12th) Da Vinci Communications

Cecily Barnes (8th) Da Vinci Connect TK-8
Aaron Peters (8th) Da Vinci Connect TK-8

Liya Nartey (10th) Da Vinci Connect High
William Bleier (11th) Da Vinci Connect High

Kimora Evans Moutra (12th) Da Vinci Design
Kaden Schneider (12th) Da Vinci Design

Sydney Parsons (11th) Da Vinci Science
Devin Ponciano (12th) Da Vinci Science

Olivia Griffin (12th) Da Vinci Communications, Coordinator
Milissa Sutton (12th) Da Vinci Connect High, Coordinator