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 32 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

David M. Toston, Sr., is a Senior Advisor at the CCEE. In this role, David leads programs assisting local educational agencies through collaboration with the California Department of Education and the State Board of Education to improve educational outcomes. At CCEE, his responsibilities encompass the state-wide system of support, program evaluations, community engagement initiative, 21 CSLA, literacy initiatives, internal operations, and direct technical assistance. Read More

Mindy Fattig

Senior Advisor of System of Support

Mindy Fattig is a Senior Advisor for the Statewide System of Support (SSOS) at CCEE. In this role, Mindy leads statewide initiatives focusing on collaboration and coordination of the SSOS and leveraging best practices in building local capacity and improving student outcomes in local educational agencies. At CCEE, her responsibilities encompass the coordination of the Statewide System of Support, Geographic Leads, Special Education Resource Leads, Special Education Educator Workforce Investment Grant, Behavioral Health, program evaluations, and direct technical assistance in the area of Special Education. 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

Travon Martin

Senior Manager of the Community Engagement Initiative

Travon Martin serves as the Senior Manager of the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) at the CCEE. In this capacity, he plays a crucial role in supporting the CEI, which aims to enhance the collaboration among communities, school districts, and county offices of education (COEs) statewide during the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) development process. Read More

Kashani Daniels

Senior Program Specialist, Community Engagement & System of Support

Kashani Daniels is a Senior Program Specialist for the CCEE. In her role, she provides logistical support to the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). A California native, Kashani has dedicated her career to serving families and children in Sacramento County for over 20 years. Her career includes a unique combination of employment in schools, government agencies, and social service organizations. Her professional focus is to work in partnerships to create opportunities for education, equity, advocacy, and support in underserved communities. Kashani offers experience in program development, project management, community engagement and a passion for serving children and families. Read More

Nicole LoBese

Senior Specialist, Community Engagement

Nicole LoBese is the Senior 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 over 15 years in education directly supporting students, families, and educators. Read More

Andrew Lawton

Senior Specialist, Creative

Andrew Lawton serves as a Senior Program Specialist for the CCEE and the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). Drew comes to the CCEE with 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

Melissa Hodgson

Senior Specialist, System of Support

Melissa serves as the Senior Specialist for the Statewide System of Support within the Center for Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes (TSEE). In this role, she plays a key part in supporting statewide initiatives across the state. She collaborates closely with Deputy Executive Director Dr. Chris Hartley and Senior Advisor Mindy Fattig to manage and coordinate several projects within the statewide System of Support. Read More

Emma Oh

Fiscal Coordinator

Emma Oh serves as a Fiscal Coordinator for the CCEE. In this role, she coordinates the agency’s fiscal operations including budget management, contracting, invoicing and the agency’s internal operation practices. Prior to joining the CCEE, Emma was a Financial Analyst at San Mateo-Foster City School District. She 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.
Emma is delighted to be part of the team at CCEE and is looking forward to working with our partners to build relationship and improve the quality of education throughout the K-12 system. Read More

Mayra Mendoza-Flores

Fiscal Analyst

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

Ara Kamille Ramos

Administrative Assistant II

Ara Kamille Ramos serves as an Administrative Assistant II for the California Collaborative of Educational Excellence (CCEE). In this role, she provides vital support for to the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) team. Read More

CCEE Staff Bios

Chris Hartley

David M. Toston

Mindy Fattig

Steven Sterling Mitchell

Travon Martin

Kashani Daniels

Nicole LoBese

Andrew Lawton

Melissa Hodgson

Emma Oh

Mayra Mendoza-Flores

Ara Kamille Ramos