TSEE Staff Bios

Chris Hartley

Deputy Executive Director

Dr. Chris Hartley serves as a Deputy Executive Director at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). While supporting CCEE Executive Director, Matt Navo, his 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. Transitioning to CCEE from the role of serving as Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools, his background and service is focused on meeting the needs of children and youth throughout the K-12 system. Dr. Chris Hartley serves as a Deputy Executive Director at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). While supporting CCEE Executive Director, Matt Navo, his 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.

Transitioning to CCEE from the role of serving as Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools, his background and service is focused on meeting the needs of children and youth throughout the K-12 system. Through efforts focused on networking and collaboration, he has developed and built relationships and partnerships with multiple regional and statewide agencies and organizations. He strives to improve student outcomes by supporting innovative strategies that maximize resources, align initiatives, build and foster partnerships and cohesion, while utilizing improvement science practices.

With 30 years in education, Chris originally began as a teacher in high school level alternative education programs, and ultimately transitioned to high school principal, founder and principal of a charter school, and Superintendent for the Northern Humboldt Union High School District. Every student must have accessibility to a rich and meaningful learning experience. Serving and advocating for the needs of students in rural communities with a focus on building relationships among diverse community members and educators has proven instrumental in successful program design and implementation during his career.

Investing in and fostering the professional growth of individuals and teams leads to organizational improvement and growth. Dr. Hartley has practical experience leading organizational improvement efforts that align with student improvement outcomes. Serving as a District and County Office Superintendent has grounded Dr. Hartey in the importance of relationship building and focus on empowering individuals to lead and serve.

As a practitioner, Chris is excited to be part of the team at CCEE and looks forward to serving students in the state by serving as a partner in transformational planning and innovation. His knowledge and experience serving students and communities experiencing high levels of trauma is founded on sound understanding of MTSS practices and a sense-based approach to designing effective intervention and support efforts. Read More

David M. Toston

Senior Advisor of Equity & Innovation

David Toston is originally from Compton, CA, and credits his mother and K-12 educators for showing him the importance of education and preparing him for a life of public service. A graduate in English and Education at Pacific Union College, Toston received his Master’s of Education in School Psychology at Azusa Pacific University and completed the Educational Leadership program at Western Washington University. Currently, as the Director of Systems Improvement and Innovation at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Toston leads in the development of direct technical assistance guidance and resources that LEAs can utilize to improve instructional quality and advance achievement for all students, especially our most vulnerable students. David Toston is originally from Compton, CA, and credits his mother and K-12 educators for showing him the importance of education and preparing him for a life of public service. A graduate in English and Education at Pacific Union College, Toston received his Master’s of Education in School Psychology at Azusa Pacific University and completed the Educational Leadership program at Western Washington University. Currently, as the Director of Systems Improvement and Innovation at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Toston leads in the development of direct technical assistance guidance and resources that LEAs can utilize to improve instructional quality and advance achievement for all students, especially our most vulnerable students. He also works in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE) and State Board of Education (SBE) in leveraging the assistance of leads identified across the state of California to support LEAs in improving outcomes for students (e.g., SELPA Leads, Literacy Leads, etc.).

Before his current position, Toston was an Associate Superintendent with the El Dorado County Office of Education. In this role, he provided leadership and oversight of the professional learning systems, programmatic and fiscal oversight framework for the El Dorado SELPAs and Statewide Initiatives. During this time, he was also an adjunct Professor with Loyola Marymount University, where he taught graduate courses in the Department of Urban Education. Additionally, Toston has served in a variety of regional leadership roles in California and Washington.

Toston’s extensive experience in the California educational system includes leadership and participation in numerous professional organizations and state committees. In 2017 he was appointed by the California Assembly to the Advisory Commission on Special Education. In 2020 he was elected as the Chair of California on Special Education (ACSE), becoming the first African American to hold this role. He has previously served as the Vice-Chair for ACSE and the Chair for the Coalition for Adequate Funding in Special Education.

David believes his professional achievements reflect his family, employers, mentors, and teammates’ exemplary support and inspiration. Read More

Mindy Fattig

Senior Advisor of System of Support

Mindy Fattig is a Senior Advisor for the Statewide System of Support with an expertise in Special Education for the Transformative Systems for Equity in Education Center of CCEE. Fattig brings over 25 years of experience in education which includes being a paraprofessional for a student with disabilities, a general education and special education teacher, created a co-teaching inclusion program which earned national and state wide recognition, a site principal, director of special education for two county office of educations and for the past ten years she was the Executive Director for the Humboldt Del-Norte Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). Read More

Steven Sterling Mitchell

Assistant Director, Community Engagement & System of Support

Steven Sterling Mitchell is the Assistant Director of Community Engagement and System of Support for the CCEE. In this role, he co-leads the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) within the CA System of Support. The CEI is focused on building the capacity of communities, school districts, and county offices of education (COEs) statewide to engage each other more meaningfully in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) development process. Read More

Julie Boesch

Assistant Director, State System of Support

Dr. Julie Boesch serves as the Assistant Director of the State System of Support for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Under the direction of the Deputy Executive Director, Dr. Chris Hartley, Julie leads the planning, facilitation, implementation management, and refinement for California’s Statewide System of Support by working with CCEE staff, partner organizations, and other educational partners to facilitate and manage various initiatives comprising the System of Support. Read More

Kashani Daniels

Program Specialist, Community Engagement & System of Support

Kashani Daniels serves as a Program Specialist for the CCEE. A California native, she has dedicated her career to service to families and children for nearly 20 years. Her career includes a unique combination of vocation in schools, in government agencies, and social service organizations. In her former role at the Sacramento Children’s Home, her focus was to provide education, advocacy and supports to reduce the number of childhood deaths in Sacramento County. Now, she is looking forward to continuing her work in equity through her new role as a Program Specialist with the CCEE Read More

Nicole LoBese

Program Specialist, Community Engagement

Nicole LoBese is the Program Specialist for California’s Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). In this role, she supports the Community Engagement Initiative within the CA System of Support. The CEI is focused on building the capacity of communities, school districts, and county offices of education (COEs) statewide to engage each other more meaningfully in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) development process. LoBese comes to the CCEE with 12 years of experience in education directly supporting students, families, and educators. Read More

Andrew Lawton

Program Specialist, Community and Strategic Engagement

Andrew Lawton serves as a Program Specialist for CCEE’s Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). Drew comes to the CCEE with almost 10 years of statewide educational experience in California. Through his previous employment at the El Dorado County Office of Education, he produced work for SELPAs, SELPA Lead Agencies, CDE funded grant projects, CDE, and the California Transition Alliance. He brings with him to CCEE skills in content strategy, visual design, and a passion for learning. Read More

Jasmine Hennessy

Program Specialist, System of Support

Jasmine Hennessy is a Program Specialist for CCEE’s Center for Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes. In this role, she provides project management, conducts research, and develops resources for initiatives related to the Statewide System of Support. She supports initiatives ranging from special education, to literacy grants, professional learning, and community engagement. Jasmine has previously worked in a variety of sectors, and brings to CCEE her skills in project management, research and analysis, and a passion for making education more equitable for students in California and beyond. Jasmine holds a Master of Public Policy from University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with a Minor in Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley. In her free time, she enjoys spending time in the mountains and reading novels. Read More

Melissa Hodgson

Program Specialist, System of Support

Melissa serves as a Program Specialist for the Center for Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes (TSEE). In this role, she provides project management and coordination, and administrative support to the team. She works directly alongside Deputy Executive Director Dr. Chris Hartley and brings with her almost a decade of experience working in education. Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Cal Poly Humboldt. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors with her two boys, her husband and dog. Read More

Emma Oh

Fiscal Analyst

Emma Oh serves as a Fiscal Analyst for the CCEE. In this role, Oh helps to manage the agency’s fiscal operations including budgeting, bookkeeping, contracting and invoicing. Prior to joining the CCEE, Oh was a Financial Analyst at San Mateo-Foster City School District. Oh worked collaboratively between the Facilities Department and the Business Department where her work was primarily focused on financial analysis related to multi-year facilities construction projects funded by Measure L and Measure X Bonds. Read More

Mayra Mendoza-Flores

Administrative Assistant II

Mayra Mendoza-Flores serves as an Administrative Assistant II for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). In this role, Mayra provides administrative and program support within the Community Engagement and System of Support with the Center for Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes. Read More

CCEE Staff Bios

Chris Hartley

David M. Toston

Mindy Fattig

Steven Sterling Mitchell

Julie Boesch

Kashani Daniels

Nicole LoBese

Andrew Lawton

Jasmine Hennessy

Melissa Hodgson

Emma Oh

Mayra Mendoza-Flores

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