bay view academy

Board of Directors

The Bay View Academy charter school is governed by the Board of Directors of the Bay View Academy corporation, a non-profit, public benefit corporation.

Become a Board Member

Bay View Academy is a 501c3 tax-exempt organization for both federal and state tax purposes. If you’re interested in joining our Board of Directors, please complete an online application. Paper applications can be printed and submitted to the BVA front office.

Tone Larsen

President

Email | Term completes 6/30/2023

Born and raised in Norway, Tone moved to the US to pursue her BA and MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS). After many years living and working in Silicon Valley, she is happy to be back in Monterey where she lives with her husband and son – a student at Bay View Academy.

Hugh Smith

Vice President

Email / Term completes 6/30/2025

Hugh Smith is a Peninsula native growing up in Seaside, CA and a golfer at heart. He was introduced to the game by his father who picked it up while on active duty at Ft Ord. Hugh achieved the rank of Eagle Scout like many in his family and was also fortunate to serve as a caddie at Pebble Beach while on the Monterey High Golf Team. He attended Jackson StateUniversity where he graduated with degrees in Finance and Management, the highest GPA of any student-athlete, won the National Minority College Golf Championship and was part ofthe team which was the first HBCU to ever make it to NCAAs. Hugh has over 20yrs of non-profit and golf administration experience. Currently, Hugh is serving as the Director of Program Development and Evaluation at Youth on Course which is part of the Northern California Golf Association. Hugh is a husband and father of three and enjoying being back in the Monterey Area where he grew up, staying active in his faith, community and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Jayme Fields

Treasurer

Email / Term completes 6/30/2024

Jayme, native of California, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Computer

Science. Earning her CPA with a “Big 8” accounting firm in Salinas, she worked with many

companies, government entities, and not-for-profits in the Salinas Valley and Central Coast.

After public accounting, she worked in banking and agriculture; most currently with one of the

largest organic growers of row-crop vegetables in the United States. Jayme lives in Monterey

with her husband and two sons, and has been a Board member and Treasurer since 2014.

Sheri Shaw

Secretary

Email / Term completes 6/30/2023

Sheri Shaw has a daughter who is a BVA alumni and has been involved at the school since it opened in the fall of 2011. She has been a CVO parent representative to the board 2013-2017 and is now a board member at large. Sheri works at CHOMP in the HIM department as the Coding Supervisor. She has been a Girl Scout leader in her daughter’s troop and believes strongly in community service and giving back.

Ashley Reyes

Email / Term completes 2/16/2025

Ashley Reyes has been working with youth of all ages in both academic and in childcare settings for almost 15 years. Her experience includes being an Academic Intern for Monterey High School, an After-School Aide for the International School of Monterey, a Lead Preschool Teacher for Early Development Services as well as a Parent Educator for Parenting Connections of Monterey County. She is currently the Head Teacher/Site-Supervisor for the Seaside Child Development Center. Ashley has two Associate’s Degrees: one in Anthropology and one in Child Development, a Bachelors Degree, and a Master’s Degree both in Early Childhood Education from Brandman University, and she is currently a Ph.D. student in Infant and Early Childhood Development through Fielding Graduate University. Ashley lives with her husband Ronald, her daughter Ashlyn and their bearded dragon “Luno Dinosaur”. She loves reading, knitting, and going to the movies with her family.

Bob Bluth

Email / Term completes 2/16/2023

Robert Bluth grew up in LA, and moved to Washington DC in the 1980s to start his career with the Federal government which lasted for over 30 years. In 1996, he moved to Monterey to join the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) as the Director of an Atmospheric Science Research Facility (CIRPAS). Research work at CIRPAS involved conducting observations from research aircraft, truck-based radars (storm chasing), and unmanned aircraft operations, with funding from NASA, NOAA, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research, among others. The CIRPAS Team worked in collaboration with other scientists, conducting atmospheric science experiments around the world to better understand air and sea interactions, cloud physics and pollution impacts. Robert is married to Charla Britt and the father of two lovely daughters, aged 14 and 9. He retired from NPS in 2017, and now serves on the City of Monterey’s Architectural Review Committee.

Heather Vowell

Email / Term completes 6/15/2024

Heather Vowell has been a resident of Monterey County Since 2004 and a member of the BVA Community Since 2015. In 2018, she joined the CVO as the Secretary/ DJ (not an official role). She spent 19 years working in hospitality before joining a public agency in 2019 as the Clerk of the Board. The mother of two BVA Students, is pleased to have the opportunity to sit on the Board of Directors.

Suzanne Garcia-Mateus

Email / Term completes 4/20/2025

Suzanne García-Mateus grew up in Southern California in a bilingual (Spanish/English) home. She is proud of her Mexican heritage and is part of the reason she is now raising multilingual children of her own. In 2019, after 20 years of living in Austin, Texas, she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Monterey Institute for English Learners (MIEL) at CSU – Monterey Bay. Her scholarship examines the intersection of race, class, language and identity in culturally and linguistically diverse school contexts. During her free time she enjoys hiking, camping, swimming in the bay and spending time (in Spanish) with her husband and two daughters.

Board Committees

Academic Excellence Committee

Work with school leadership to define academic excellence. Ensure the optimal academic achievement of all BVA students. Define what the graduating BVA student looks like (whole child). Measure academic results against goals as stated in charter, LCAP, and by the Head of School and the Board. Proposes short, medium, and long-term strategies and programs that support academic excellence. The Academic Excellence Committee begins the process to create an academic strategic plan. This committee is also responsible for the LCAP process.

Development Committee

Work with school leadership to define academic excellence. Ensure the optimal academic achievement of all BVA students. Define what the graduating BVA student looks like (whole child). Measure academic results against goals as stated in charter, LCAP, and by the Head of School and the Board. Proposes short, medium, and long-term strategies and programs that support academic excellence. The Academic Excellence Committee begins the process to create an academic strategic plan. This committee is also responsible for the LCAP process.

Governance Committee

In coordination with the Head of School, assess existing governing structures to ensure that they reflect and operate on the Charter School’s core principles, mission and vision; to propose potential new governing structures that ensure the flexibility and innovation of the curriculum design for all BVA programs; to review present and future practices and policies; to ensure that the entire school works together and that the Board carries out its policy and oversight duties, while school managers implement it. Review practices and standards for all committees (e.g., hold open meetings, with agendas and promptly posted minutes). Develop Board tools and training, support administration, ensure proper processes for meetings, minutes and agendas. Recommend optimal operating structures, create and maintain policies. Oversees that the hiring process is in accordance with the charter.

Finance Committee

Reviews, analyzes and proposes budget spending and budget policies to the Board. Submits budget to authorizers as required. Supports audits and other projects as needed.