The Governing Board of Cornerstone Academy Preparatory School consists of highly qualified professionals committed to raising the standard of K-12 education in San Jose. Students that prefer to buy book reports or ask their tutors to correct their essay mistakes directly can leave their contact info at https://specialessays.com/buy-book-reports/ to avoid any misunderstandings.
Board members have the expertise needed to effectively govern a charter school, including vast knowledge in the areas of law, finance, accounting, education, marketing, real estate, charter school operations, and community outreach. Most importantly, all board members believe in and embody the belief that all children deserve a high quality, public education that prepares them for college.
2015-2016 Board Meeting Dates
October 19, 2015
December 15, 2015
March 21, 2016
Board meetings will begin at 6:30pm unless otherwise stated and take place at the Cornerstone Academy Campus.
2014-2015 Board Meeting Dates
September 11, 2014
October 20, 2014
March 23, 2015
June 15, 2015
Board meetings will begin at 6:30pm unless otherwise stated and take place at the Cornerstone Academy Campus.
Please click on a board member’s name to read a short biography.
Board Chair -- Allison Putnam – Director, Individual Giving at Teach for America
A product of public education and a native Californian, Allison is passionate about ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to pursue educational and cultural opportunities. She is a proud Teach For America alumna, where she taught 5th grade in St. Louis, MO and was chosen to represent and speak on behalf of the 2005 corps at the 15th Anniversary Alumni Summit. After her classroom experience, Allison worked for a marketing and customer loyalty company, where she managed on-site logistics for corporate events of Fortune 500 companies. Last year, Allison moved back to the Bay Area and now works for City Year San Jose / Silicon Valley, where she manages AmeriCorps corps members to implement high impact tutoring and extended learning time at an East San Jose elementary school. Allison earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Southern California and Masters degrees in Arts Management and Business Administration from the University of Oregon.
Hans Schmitz – Director of Impact at City Year
A product of Silicon Valley public schools, Mr. Schmitz brings over 9 years of relevant education experience to the board as a teacher, a trainer, and in the extended learning space. He has had a diverse career path that has included education and technology, both separately and together. A proud member of Teach for America, Mr. Schmitz achieved significant academic gains with his sixth grade students and served in several leadership positions during his commitment. After Teach For America Mr. Schmitz served as the Manager of Customer Success for Edgenuity where he trained and supported educators on how to use data to inform instruction and how to use technology to access that data. Now, as the Director of Impact at City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley, Mr. Schmitz leads a department of 85 staff members and AmeriCorps Corps Members to assist students who are off track in their attendance, behavior and course work in literacy and math at some of San Jose’s most underserved schools.
Priya Ghandikota – Advisor to Early Stage Businesses
An intrapreneur, Priya has headed up marketing for new technology products and helped launch spin off businesses at technology innovators BlackBerry, LinkedIn and Oracle in their regional and HQ offices. Priya’s expertise is identifying new customer segments, brand development and launching new category products in emerging markets, having lived and worked extensively in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. Her interest in education originates with her commitment to establishing equitable access to resources, dating back to the mid-1990s when she worked in women-focused microfinance in West Africa and healthcare and legal advocacy in India for underserviced and marginalized communities. Currently, Priya is helping primarily mission-driven start-ups and entrepreneurs design their marketing strategy from bottom up, launch new services and products and charter a sustainable path to selling in new markets while giving back. Priya has an Honors Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Danh Le – Assistant Vice President, Technology Group, Union Bank
Mr. Le brings over 10 years of relevant experience in banking and finance to the Cornerstone Board and its Finance Committee. As a banker in the Technology space, he and his team finance a lot of Technology companies with cutting edge technologies and innovations that serve and improve our daily lives. Prior to joining Union Bank in San Francisco, Mr. Le, as an Investment Manager at SEAF, a Washington-DC based boutique Private Equity firm focusing on investing in emerging markets, managed an Investment Fund for SEAF in Vietnam called SEAF Blue Waters Growth Fund. The Fund provides long-term investments with a double bottom line mission: to promote socially responsible economic development in Vietnam while generating a competitive return to the fund’s investors. Danh earned his B.A. degree in Finance in Vietnam in 2002. In 2006, Danh was awarded the Japanese Development Scholarship (JDS) to pursue higher education in Japan for two years. In 2008, he earned his MBA Degree (Finance Major) with Honors from the International University of Japan (IUJ) Graduate Business School. Mr. Le is also a Stanford Certified Project Manager after completing the Advanced Project Management Program from Stanford in 2013.