Presenters

Dr. Barry Groves serves as the president of WASC, which accredits over 5,000 schools worldwide. Before this, he dedicated over 23 years as a superintendent in Santa Clara County. Throughout his career, he has been affiliated with California public schools, taking on roles as a teacher, principal, and district administrator. Dr. Groves co-wrote the recent publication, "Connecting the Dots of Accreditation," among 30 other works. He earned his doctorate in education administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.

Jenell is a seasoned educator with over 25 years of experience and a deep passion for personalized learning and educational choice. She has supported families across several flex-based charter schools, serving as a teacher, supervising teacher, and now Executive Director. Throughout her career, Jenell has focused on fostering supportive, inclusive communities where both students and staff can thrive. 

She is especially committed to meeting the unique needs of every student and mentoring the next generation of educational leaders.  At home in Orangevale, Jenell and her husband John enjoy a lively life with their four children—Ben, Heidi, Kate, and Jude—and a fun-loving crew of outdoor animals. 

Dr. Stewart is a clinical psychologist, specializing in child, adolescent and family therapy. She has a background in Special Education, as both a teacher and administrator.  The overlap between special education and psychology is what began her work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as a clinical practice with children who struggle with Anxiety Disorders, Tourette’s and Attention Deficit Disorders.   In 2000 she founded Orion Academy, a private high school in Concord California, dedicated to the education and personal success of neurodiverse teens. Orion Academy is a WASC accredited college preparatory high school, with a specialized program that equally emphasis academics and social pragmatic learning.

Dr. Linda Norman is the current ACS WASC Commission Chairperson and represents the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) on the ACS WASC Commission. She has worked in both private and public schools, serving students in preschools, elementary, junior high, high school, and adult education. Throughout her 40 years in education, she has held many roles including that of teacher, preschool director, program director, school principal, school president, and superintendent. As the Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, she supports the ACS WASC and WCEA dual accreditation of the thirteen elementary and secondary schools within the diocese.

Marilyn George has been the Executive Vice President of ACS WASC since 1987. In addition to her knowledge of international accreditation and continuous school improvement, her areas of expertise are school curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and professional development. 

Prior to joining ACS WASC, she taught at the K-12 and college levels and was a professional development specialist, a trainer, a consultant, and a high school district administrator of professional development and state/federal programs. She has given presentations written extensively on the areas of staff development, mentoring, and accreditation. Her degrees are from Westminster College (B.S.), University of Wisconsin, Madison (M.S.), and University of California Los Angeles, UCLA, (Ed.D.).

Chief Lethin began police work in 2000 in the Marin County Sheriff’s Department, according to the press release. He joined the San Mateo Police Department in 2006 and was selected as a captain in 2021.

During that tenure, his focus was on countywide fentanyl overdose investigation protocols, the creation of a homeless outreach team and a domestic violence advocate co-response program.

He holds a bachelors, a masters in public administration and several accreditations in police work, including graduating the Command College Program and the California Police Chiefs Association Executive Leadership Certification Program.

Dr. Odie J. Douglas represents the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) on the ACS WASC Commission where he currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair.  He retired in 2019, as an assistant superintendent in the Pleasanton Unified School District located in Alameda County.  In that position, he was responsible for overseeing educational services and supervising elementary, middle, and high schools. 

Dr. Douglas is a coach/facilitator for the California Academic Partnership Program Leadership Network and has served as a national consultant for the College Board and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).  He is on the staff of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Equity and Access Studies in Education (EASE) Project and previously served as a member of the College Board’s National Academic Assembly and Western Regional Council. 

Spending 20 years in high school administration I learned early the strength of the Accreditation Process to drive continuous school  improvement.  My background includes 18 years in the classroom, 18 years as administrator and 3 years education consultant working with Connect ED coaching schools and pathways in the development of college and career pathways.  Additionally, having served on 65 school accreditations, 57 as chair have provided a unique insight to the continuous improvement cycle.