Get To Know Our Staff

Eileen B. Sigmund is the CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association
Eileen Sigmund serves as the President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association.  Eileen has a strong advocacy background, having served as a journalist, litigator, and lobbyist.  Her professional experience began as a print journalist for Gannett Newspapers.  After raising money for charity as part of cross-country bicycle ride from Seattle to New Jersey, Eileen went to  law school at Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and is licensed to practice law in Virginia and Arizona.   She moved to Arizona in 1994 to join the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office where she prosecuted child homicides before moving to a civil litigation firm.  She litigated in areas of civil rights, education, and general insurance defense before federal, state, and administrative courts.  Then politics pulled Eileen into working as a lobbyist at the Arizona legislature before taking her current position as Chief Executive Officer of the Arizona Charter Schools Association in June of 2007.  The Association provides resources for quality and advocacy for choice for Arizona’s 502 charter schools serving approximately 100,000 students.  In the last two years, she has built and led the Association to raise student achievement through quality charter schools; tripled membership; formed an affordable health insurance trust for public schools as part of a portfolio of member services.  Eileen maintains positive momentum in all Association programs to deliver effective advocacy, innovative research, and valuable resources.  Email Eileen

Rebecca Gau is the Vice President
 Rebecca Gau is the Vice President at the Arizona Charter Schools Association. Rebecca was a Senior Research Analyst at Morrison Institute for Public Policy, the “think tank” for Arizona State University for five years.  Before that she was an analyst with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), and an intern at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, specializing in charter schools and education policy.  She has had research published in journals such as The Public Interest, textbooks on education policy, and newspapers.  She is also listed in the Who’s Who of American Women.  She was a lead researcher and co-author of Beat the Odds and author of Trends in Charter Authorizing.  Both are quantitative analyses of education policy issues.  Rebecca received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Duke University and wrote her Master’s Thesis on charter schools in Dayton, Ohio.  It was named Outstanding Thesis of the Year. Email Rebecca

Peter Hodgson is the Director of Communications
Peter began his career as an educator with Mesa Public Schools, teaching 8th grade English. While he holds a BS in Marketing and Management from Arizona State University, he saw an amazing opportunity to help positively affect change with the help of Teach for America. During his time as a teacher, he led two student organizations, coached various sports and obtained his Masters in Secondary Education, also from ASU. Being on the front lines of the classroom has equipped Peter with the knowledge, drive and dedication to positively impact education in the state of Arizona. He is excited to start his role as Director of Communications and looks forward to continuing his focus on creating positive change in and outside of the classroom. Email Peter

Ashley Peyton is the Business Manager
Ashley started her professional career after receiving a degree in Finance from the University of Arizona, and then began working for a government relations firm in Phoenix. Ashley managed the financial and compliance reporting on behalf of the firm and was involved in the furthering of client initiatives through reading, interpreting and writing statutory language. Ashley joined the Arizona Charter Schools Association in 2007 at the commencement of its launch as a reinvigorated organization with a professional staff. She has managed the finances and business operations of the Association since its inception, and concurrently pursued a Masters degree in 2008-2009. After completing the Evening Accelerated MBA program at Arizona State University, Ashley received her Masters in Business Administration which has contributed her ability to successfully manage the Association’s financial operations. Email Ashley

Andrea Plucker is the Director of Programs and Services
Andrea transferred to the Arizona Charter Schools Association from SmithBucklin, a large management consulting firm based in Chicago, IL. While there she led membership and volunteer programs for a national technology association  and served as an organizational consultant for 15 regional association chapters. Prior to her career in association management, Andrea lived in rural China, Siberia, and St. Petersburg, Russia, leading student exchange programs for local universities. Ms. Plucker holds a degree in Political Science and International Studies from Pepperdine University.  Email Andrea

Nicole Denison is the Program Manager
Nicole joined the association after five years of working and developing youth education and volunteer based programs throughout Arizona.  Her background includes many different experiences relating to education and advocacy locally as well as abroad.  Nicole has spent much of her time fundraising and marketing for a small community center in Nicaragua, as well as for local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.  She holds a degree in Recreation Management and Tourism and is currently pursuing her continued education in the Spanish language!  Email Nicole

Kerry McConnell is the Director of the Success Center
Kerry is the Director of the Success Center at the Arizona Charter Schools Association.  She holds two B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one in computer science and one in psychology.  She also holds an M.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in cognitive psychology.  After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. McConnell worked for a small software company developing a routing solution for delivery companies. She now spearheads the Association’s efforts to use an integrated data system – The Success Center Online – to help teachers make data-informed decisions about individual student learning. Email Kerry

Andrew Collins is the Director of School Development
Andrew joined the association after teaching 6th grade for four years in South Phoenix through Teach for America, a nationally acclaimed and highly selective teaching program. While a member of TFA, he served as a mentor teacher for young corps members and received an Excellence in Education award for outstanding student achievement and school leadership. He holds a B.S. in Business Economics and top honors as a graduate of the highly ranked MGuire Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Arizona. Since joining the Association, Andrew has completed the AdvancED's Quality Assurance Review Chair Training and has launched a Charter Starter Program for new school developers. Email Andrew

Dorothy Mittendorf is the Office Manager/Assistant to CEO
Dorothy has been a Legal Assistant for the past 19 years for David J. Damron, Esq. of the Law Firm of Sanders & Parks, P.C. She is also actively involved in her church, St. Paul’s Catholic Church and has attended North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota for 9 month course in business/secretarial. Email Dorothy

Michele Diamond is the Financial Consultant
Formerly the Director of Government and Financial Affairs for the State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS), Michele has experience in finance, auditing, lobbying and charter schools. Prior to working for the ASBCS, Michele was a senior auditor with the Arizona Auditor General’s Office for 8 years. She holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Indiana University. Prior to her graduate work, Michele was a flight instructor and charter pilot in the state of Florida. She currently serves as the CEO of Diamond Financial Solutions, a financial service provider dedicated to high quality financial services and financial training. She also sits on the Arizona Central Credit Union’s Audit Committee.

Ann Peschka writes for our "Ask Ann" page
Ann cofounded EduPreneurship, a small K-8 charter school with an economics, micro-community focus. During her eleven year tenure, she wore just about every hat except that of academic leader, from technology teacher to business manager, and everything in between. Like many of the old-timers, her team learned how to run a charter and meet compliance requirements the hard way, on the job, solving new problems every day. Those who survived those first few years are the ones who sought help from and shared information with each other. Ann still believes this is the secret to survival. She retired from day to day school operations in 2006 with no fully formed plan but with a deep concern for smaller charters and their ability to keep up with ever-increasing compliance requirements.