Executive Team

Matt J. Navo

Executive Director

Matt J. Navo serves as the Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Navo’s knowledge and expertise in systems improvement comes from over 30 years of experience as a K-12 educator and leader. Navo served as the Superintendent of Sanger Unified School District from 2013 to 2018. Before assuming the role of Superintendent, he was a special education teacher, secondary instructor, counselor, resource teacher, junior high learning director, high school assistant principal, elementary and alternative education principal, director of special education, and area administrator. Matt J. Navo serves as the Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Navo’s knowledge and expertise in systems improvement comes from over 30 years of experience as a K-12 educator and leader. Navo served as the Superintendent of Sanger Unified School District from 2013 to 2018. Before assuming the role of Superintendent, he was a special education teacher, secondary instructor, counselor, resource teacher, junior high learning director, high school assistant principal, elementary and alternative education principal, director of special education, and area administrator.

Prior to his current role, Navo served as the Director of Systems Transformation with the Special Education Policy and Practice Division (SEPPD) at WestEd. He has experience working with districts and schools to guide systems transformation by developing strategies, structures, policies, and practices, aligned with the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) at the state, county, and local levels, to close the achievement gap for all students. Navo’s expertise lies in aligning systems, building capacity for continuous improvement, fostering collaborative cultures and collective efficacy among teams, and establishing coherent and efficient models for districts and schools.

Navo has sat on various state-level committees, boards, and work groups. Navo has been a Governor appointee to the California State Board of Education (SBE) since 2019 and has served on the CCEE Governing Board, first as the Governor appointee from 2015 to 2017, and later as the Governing Board Chair from 2019 to 2021, appointed by the president of the State Board of Education. He also served on the California Practitioners Advisory Group (CPAG) and the Advisory Commission for Special Education, in which he served as committee chair for the California Special Education Task Force (Evidence-Based Practices).

Navo has been a keynote speaker and trainer for systems improvement across the state, and has presented at over twenty different conferences on special education and school reform. He is the author of Collective Efficacy in a PLC at Work (2021) and has contributed to various articles on school reform, systems improvement, Response to Intervention (RTI), Professional Learning Communities (PLC), and Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI), including ONE SYSTEM: Reforming Education to Serve All Students, Report of California’s Statewide Task Force on Special Education (2015).

Navo’s work has been highlighted for various accomplishments. Most recently he is the author of Collective Efficacy, in a PLC at work and Demystifying MTSS, A school and District Framework for meeting students’ academic and social-emotional needs.

Navo received his bachelor’s degree in education and his master’s degree in special education from California State University, Fresno. He holds an array of credentials, including a Professional Administrative Credential, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a Professional Specialists Credential in Special Education, and a Supplemental Credential with an Autism emphasis. Read More

Sujie Shin

Deputy Executive Director

Sujie Shin serves as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). In this role, Shin works closely with Executive Director Matt Navo, oversees agency operations, spearheads specific statewide initiatives, and helps to lead Direct Technical Assistance efforts. She oversees research and evaluation initiatives within the agency, centered around the implementation of systemic practices within districts and schools aimed at equitable access, opportunity, and outcomes for students. Read More

Dr. Stephanie Gregson

Deputy Executive Director

Dr. Stephanie Gregson serves as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). In this role, Dr. Gregson works closely with Executive Director Matt Navo, overseeing the Direct Technical Assistance efforts focusing on school turnaround centering on improving teaching and learning within districts and schools aimed at equitable access, opportunity, and outcomes for students. Dr. Gregson is the former Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction and has more than 25 years of experience in public education starting her career as an elementary school teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District. Read More

Leighann Nguyen

Executive Assistant to Matt Navo

Leighann Nguyen serves as the Executive Assistant to CCEE’s Executive Director Matt Navo. In this role, she manages and coordinates the Executive Director’s daily schedule. She also provides administrative support to CCEE’s executive leadership, the CCEE Advisory Council, and operational support to CCEE staff. Prior to joining CCEE, Nguyen spent eight years at Aerojet Rocketdyne, a leading aerospace company with locations throughout the United States. Read More

Michelle Magyar, Ph.D.

Executive Advisor

Dr. Michelle Magyar is an Executive Advisor at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), where she leads strategic operations—aligning internal systems and cross-functional initiatives with the agency’s mission—alongside statewide communications, legislative, and policy engagement efforts. With over 25 years of experience in education policy, research, and systems innovation, she has held leadership roles at the State Board of Education and the California Department of Education, advancing major initiatives such as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the California School Dashboard, and P-20 learning pathways.

Mindy Fattig

Deputy Executive Director

Mindy Fattig serves as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). While supporting CCEE Executive Director, Matt Navo, her primary role is leading and supporting the CCEE Center of Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes and efforts to build capacity and improve accessibility within the CA Statewide System of Support.