Our Associates

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Ed.D
ELS Group Senior Associate/ Search Consultant
To contact Lydia via e-mail, please click here.

Education

Ed.D. – Pepperdine University, Malibu, California

Doctoral Coursework in Organizational Communication,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California,
Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, Management Development Program.
M.A. – California State Universities, Fullerton and San Diego, California
B.A. – California State University, Fullerton, California
A.A. – Saddleback Community College, Mission Viejo, California

Professional Background

Educational Consultant

Works privately and/or with other educational consulting firms which specialize in leadership/staff development, management training, organizational development, institutional/strategic planning, multicultural education, educational/vocational and student services programs, foundations and executive searches. Consulted with Ventura CCD and Kern CCD.

Before retiring from the California Community College System and working as a consultant to higher educational institutions, Dr. Ledesma-Reese served as the President of Oxnard College; President of Skagit Valley College, WA; Vice President of Instruction, Hartnell College; Dean Intercultural/International Studies, DeAnza College; among other administrative positions. Early in her career she served as a tenured professor, lecturer, and instructor in higher education.

Dr. Ledesma is a senior associate with The ELS Group who leads presidential searches and conducts professional training workshops for higher education trustees, faculty and staff.

Samuel Johnson, Jr.
Senior Associate
The ELS Group, LLC
13835 Skyline Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94619

Phone:  (510) 878-2114
To contact Samuel via e-mail, please click here.

Education

MA – Mathematics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
BS – Mathematics, Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA
Certificate -The Cambridge Group – Strategic Planning
Certificate -ACSA’s Superintendent Academy

Professional Background

Mr. Johnson is formerly the superintendent of the San Mateo Union High School District.  Prior to this position, he served as the Director of Human Relations, Director of Personnel, Associate Superintendent Human Resources and Administrative Services and Assistant Principal and Principal.  Sam has conducted searches for school level certificated and classified administrative personnel for 15 years.  The administrative searches, in which he had direct responsibility for recommending employment included deputy superintendent, associate superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and numerous directors. 

As superintendent of the San Mateo Union High School District, Mr. Johnson recommended changes in the District’s educational program, which led to students achieving the highest test scores, regardless of test measure, than at any other time in the District’s rich academic history.  Additionally, under his leadership and with overwhelming support from voters in 2006, the District received $298 million through Measure M Bond making it possible for new construction and modernization programs that continue today. Sam has chaired more than 25 Accreditation Visiting Teams for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges including assignments to Hawaii, Guam, and Hong Kong.

Robert L Ford, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Department of Chemistry
Center for STEM Education and Outreach
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne Street
Houston, TX 77004

Phone: (713) 313-7593
To contact Robert via e-mail, please click here.

Education

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University at Lafayette, IN, where he was recently recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus at both institutions.

Professional Background

Dr. Robert L Ford is Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Center for STEM Education and Outreach (C-SEO), and Chair of the TSU Faculty Senate Mentoring Committee at Texas Southern University. Ford is GLOBE Partnership Coordinator for TSU and represents the College on the University Research Council. He is a Faculty Senator, representing the College of Science and Technology and chair of the College’s Fundraising Committee. Dr. Ford is a board member of Bridging the Digital Divide, Inc. and the Houston-Luanda Sister City Association. He has served as Associate Provost for Research at TSU, Vice President for Advancement and Research at Fort Valley State University, and Vice Chancellor for Research at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

He recently completed a one-year stint as Interim Chair of the TSU Chemistry Department. He represents TSU on the Greater Houston Energy Collaborative and led the University’s Texas Emerging Technology Fund Initiative. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Greater Houston Area American Red Cross Southeast Branch, a member of the Institute of Green Professionals. and founding Chairman of the Minority Serving Institution Research (MSIRP) Partnership.

Ford has expertise in STEM education, project development and management, environmental and sustainable development, group facilitation, and small business and entrepreneurship development. He has international business and technology experience in South Africa, The Republic of the Gambia, Senegal, Nigeria, Taiwan, Germany, and The Netherlands.

During his years at Xerox Corporation in Rochester, NY and Palo Alto, CA, Ford worked in the areas organic charge transfer complex materials development for improved photocopying applications (Webster Research Center) and flat panel display device technology development based on multicolor colloidal systems (Palo Alto Research Center). In the applied research arena, he conducted a feasibility study in the Republic of the Gambia relative to agricultural waste to energy for electricity production, and uranium enrichment processing in Germany and The Netherlands.

Ford is currently working to establish a Center for STEM Education and Outreach at TSU and he is affiliated with the TSU National Transportation Security Center of Excellence focusing on Petrochemical transport. His current graduate student is conducting research in petrochemical fuels combustion and pollutant emissions. Current areas of research interest include petrochemical transport, STEM education, and environmental sustainability.

Kirk Avery

ELS Group Search Associate
To contact Kirk via e-mail, please click here.

Education
DPA – University of Southern California
MPA – University of Southern California
MBA – University of Missouri
BS – Syracuse University

Professional Background
Dr. Avery’s career spanned 39 years in higher education starting as an instructor and continuing through faculty division chair to chief executive officer of three different California community colleges. He also headed a consultant firm that conducted executive officer searches for the private sector.

Kirk Avery is a search associate who leads search assignments for the ELS Group.  His experience includes Superintendent/President, Monterey Peninsula College (MPC), Vice President for Administrative services MPC, President Cypress College, Superintendent/ President Palo Verde Community College District, Dean of Business Services/Chief Business Officer Lake Tahoe CCD.

Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr.
ELS Group Senior Associate

Education
Ph.D University of Connecticut
MA University of Connecticut
BA University of Connecticut

Professional Background
Before retiring from service with the State of Maryland, Dr. Lyons served as Secretary of Higher Education, where his responsibility included the coordination of all post-secondary education.  Among his many administrative positions he served as President of Bowie State University; President of Jackson State University, President of California State University Dominguez Hills and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Delaware State University.

Well known for his work as a State Higher Education Executive Officer (SHEEO), he is considered an expert in higher education desegregation; State Systems of Higher Education; Public/Private partnerships in higher education; and K-12/higher education partnerships.  Dr. Lyons has been a Trustee at Philadelphia University, and Dillard University in New Orleans.

He has served on the Boards of several major higher education organizations including the American Council on Education; the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; and, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.  He has been a member of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Schools.

Dr. Lyons has served as a consultant on issues as diverse as collective bargaining; higher education desegregation; college readiness and student retention; minority serving institutions; magnet/charter schools; and minority entrepreneurship.

Stu Sutin Ph.D

Education
Ph.D. University of Texas at
M.A.  Georgetown University
B.A. Penn State

Professional Background
He is currently Clinical Professor of Administrative and Policy Studies, Program Coordinator for Higher Education Management and Associate Director of the Institute for Higher Education Management in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Sutin served as President of Community College of Allegheny County.

Dr. Sutin’s executive positions in the banking industry included President of Bank of Boston International (now Bank of America) and Senior Vice President and International Department Head of Mellon Bank (now BNY Mellon). His professional activities included service as President of the Board of Directors of the Bankers Association for Trade and Finance, Chair of the Western Pennsylvania District Export Council, board member of Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, co-founder of the Global Trade Institute, and Massachusetts State Coordinator for The War on Waste In Government (Grace Commission).

Dr. Sutin served on the Board of Trustees of St. Thomas University and the International Fine Arts College of Miami, where he was Vice Chairman. He has been on advisory boards at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Brandeis University, and the University of Miami. Dr. Sutin is an adjunct member of the faculty of the Katz Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh and served in a similar capacity at Babson University. He co-edited and authored chapters Financing Development in Latin America, contributed a chapter to the International Banking Handbook,  published by Dow Jones Irwin,  has written other articles on international finance, and is Senior Editor and Co-Author of Improving the Financial Model of Community College: Sustainability in a Global Context  (under contract with Palgrave Macmillan; expected publication 2011). He served in the U.S. Army Reserves, and received an honorable discharge with the rank of Captain.

Sylvia Key, Ed.D.,
ELS Group Consultant

Education
Ed.D.  University of California at Berkeley
M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University (Reading
B.A.  State University of New York at Fredonia (English)

Professional Background

Sylvia Key provides leadership, professional development, coaching and facilitation in the planning, development, management and implementation of services for children, youth and families in collaboration with school districts, county and community agencies.  Dr. Key has also been a high school administrator and department chair.  She has taught at the high school, adult school, and college level.

Dr. Key has been the recipient of a number of awards such as the Kent Award from the San Mateo County Schools Boards Association and the Outstanding Service Award, Partnership in Education from the San Mateo County Office of Education.

In addition to her extensive work in public education, Dr. Key is a member of the Fatherhood Collaborative, a commission of the Board of Supervisors and is secretary of the Board of Trustees for Urban Strategies.  She recently served as a member of the State Advisory Board for the California Preschool Instructional Network (2004-10) and is a member of the Association of California School Administrators.

Dr. Key’s publications include: Professional Development: Lessons from Research, Districts and Teachers, Dissertation thesis (1995) and “Make the Chore of Student Teachers a Reason to Cheer,” The Executive Educator 9(1987).  Dr. Key was a founding member, former president and editor of the Secondary Teachers Association of Reading.

Harriett J. Robles, Ed. D.

Dr. Robles began her educational career in 1975 teaching English and English as a second language (ESL) in the Campbell Union High School District.  In 1981, she accepted an instructor position at West Valley College, where she taught English and ESL and coordinated the college’s ESL program.  She later served as Assistant Dean and then Dean of Instruction and Matriculation at West Valley.   In 2003, she was selected as the Vice President of Instruction at Mission College in Santa Clara.  In 2006-07, she served as the interim President of Mission College, and in 2007, she was appointed permanent President.  In addition to her teaching and administrative experience, Dr. Robles was an active board member of the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges for many years and served as its president in 2003-04.  She served two terms as a Director of the Board for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Robles retired in 2010 after 35 years as an educator.  She currently consults in educational master planning and has most recently been appointed Vice President of Educational Collaboration for the Institute of Evidence-Based Change. 

Dr. Robles holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Occidental College, Los Angeles; an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley; and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership and Change from Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara.  She has completed additional graduate studies at San José State University and University of Santa Clara.  She has been a frequent presenter and consultant in the areas of assessment, student outcomes, and institutional planning.  She continues to teach at the graduate level in educational leadership, systems, management, governance, and organizational change. 

William E. Brown
1083 Clay Street, Suite 402
San Francisco, CA 94108
Cell: (415) 412-1650
Facsimile: (415) 986-0502
Email: williamebrown_cymr@sbcglobal.net

SUMMARY RESUME
Education:
B.A. San Diego State University
Major: Anthropology/Sociology
Minor: Languages - French, Russian
J.D. University of San Diego School of Law
Certificate: Gray's Inn, Inns of Court, London

Experience:
• Management-side practice of public school and labor law - 20+ years

• Private Sector - ROHR Corporation, Chula Vista, California
1. Wage and Salary Administration
2. Labor Relations - Technical and office and professional employees exempt under the
Fair Labor Standards Act

• Public Sector - San Diego Unified School District
1. Chief Employee Relations Counsel.
2. Legislative Representative (Sacramento)
3. Wage and Salary Administrator.
4. Deputy Schools Attorney

• Memberships
1. American Arbitration Association
2. California State BAR
3. San Francisco BAR Association
4. American BAR Association
5. PERB Advisory Committee

• Other
1. Special Master - State BAR of California
2. Arbitrator - attorney-client fee disputes
3. Pending - State BAR certified specialist in labor

• Admissions
1. United States Supreme Court
2. Supreme Court of California
3. All Federal courts sitting in California including Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Ross T. Hite

Licensed Private Investigator
Owner – Investigative Analysis
www.investigativeanalysis.com
Burlingame, CA

Phone: (650) 343-6561
To contact Ross via e-mail, please click here

Education

B.A.  University of San Francisco (Sociology/Criminology)  
M.P.A.  Golden Gate University (Minor in business) 
Lifetime CA Teaching Credential  
State of CA Advanced POST Certificate

Professional Background

Ross T. Hite, founder of Investigative Analysis is a licensed investigative consultant. He maintains licenses to practice in California and Louisiana.

Mr. Hite has been a Private Investigator since forming his business consulting firm in 1979. Prior to becoming self-employed, he was a member of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office located in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area.  While in the Sheriff’s Office he was a Sheriff’s Detective and member of the Special Investigations Unit.  

Using his background in law enforcement, Mr. Hite has sharpened his skills in various areas of investigation which touch on the education field. During the past 25 years has been directly involved with school administrators and legal counsel representing school and community college districts; conducted investigations involving sexual harassment complaints and discipline cases for dishonesty, fraud and theft; acted as liaison with school officials, local law enforcement, federal investigators and legal counsel; augmented the efforts of college law enforcement in serious stalking cases; coordinated  successful undercover operations in a unified school district.  

Ross T. Hite brings a blend of enthusiasm and nearing four decades of experience which will enhance any strategic team moving forward to identify and solve a problem/issue.