from left to right: Dr. Pam Roggeman, Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick, Stephen Jordan, Deea McBride
PHOENIX, AZ December 15, 2021: Dr. Pam Roggeman, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Phoenix, has been named President of the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) Board of Trustees. In this role, Roggeman will help guide the beloved nonprofit in its mission to celebrate excellence and cultivate equity in PK-12th grade public education. Roggeman succeeds Brian J. Schulman, an attorney with Weiss Brown, who joined the AEF board in 2009.
Roggeman began her career as an English teacher in Pima County where she taught high school English for almost two decades. While teaching, she was named an AEF Teacher of the Year Ambassador of Excellence. In 2008, she accepted a position with ASU leading teacher preparation programs, before taking on her current role as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Phoenix. Through her leadership, Roggeman has led the work of preparing thousands of teacher candidates in numerous states satisfy credentialing requirements. This experience has included national partnerships helping to advance thought-leadership in the field of education. She has spent over a decade in higher education teacher preparation in both the public and private sector. She spearheaded a partnership with CCSSO's National Teacher of the Year program which led to the creation of the Black Male Educator Fellowship. She is a lifetime supporter of and believer in Arizona public education and serves as a content designer and Fellow for AEF's Our World program. She began her tenure as an AEF board member in January 2018. In 2020, Roggeman was honored as the first recipient of the AEF Carolyn Warner Legacy Award. Endowed by the family of Carolyn Warner, this award recognizes champions of public education.
“There is no more passionate advocate for public education and public school educators than Dr. Roggeman. AEF’s vision is to “give Arizona public education the shine it deserves,” and through Pam’s leadership, we are excited to see the many ways that AEF will fulfill this vision,” stated executive director Kim Graham.
In addition to naming Roggeman President, the AEF Board of Trustees Executive Committee elected additional new members. Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick, who joined the board in 2012, is the new Vice President. Previously, she served as Board Secretary. She is the current Chair of Online and Statewide Academic Programs for Online and Innovative Educational Initiatives at Northern Arizona University where she is also a clinical professor. She has a multi-faceted educational career: associate dean of outreach, research at development in the College of Education at Grand Canyon University; elementary ESL teacher, Reading department chair and AVID site leader in a middle school, ESL, Storytelling, and Education instructor at Maricopa County Community Colleges. She has a passion for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Recruiting and retaining effective teachers and leaders drives her continuous service and leadership on several other boards. In addition to having served as the past president of Arizona School Administrators Higher Education Division, Educators Rising Arizona, and Arizona Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages, she was the vice president of First Things First Southeast Maricopa Regional Council.
Deea McBride will serve as board Secretary. McBride is a Vice President with Wells Fargo in the Chief Technology Office, and has been working with the company for over 20 years. Deea earned her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Political Systems from Northern Arizona University and her Master’s degree in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. She has experience in finance, communications, and training. Deea comes from a long line of educators and joined the AEF Board of Directors in the summer of 2015. She has served on numerous boards of directors and committees for Arizona’s nonprofit community and loves making a difference in Arizona schools through her work with AEF.
Stephen Jordan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Desert Financial Credit Union, remains as Treasurer. Jordan has worked at credit unions in California and Arizona that have historical schools-based fields of memberships since 1992. He holds degrees in economics and political science from the University of California, Riverside. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Stephen is active in the volunteer field and serves on the United Way Committee at Desert Financial. He joined the AEF board in 2017.
About the Arizona Educational Foundation: The mission of the Arizona Educational Foundation is to celebrate excellence and cultivate equity in Pre-K-12th grade Arizona public education. AEF reaches over half a million students, teachers, and administrators each year statewide. This work is accomplished through several programs, some of which shine a spotlight on excellence; others provide a stepping stone to help support schools and educators on the road to awesomeness. AEF is most well known for coordinating the Arizona Teacher of the Year program, the Arizona State Spelling Bee, and the A+ School of Excellence Award.