Chris Powell is a certified public accountant who served as chief financial officer for Washington Iron Works for more than 30 years until his retirement in late 2021. The 100-year old commercial steel/iron company worked on some of the most iconic construction projects in southern California. He enjoys volunteering his time by serving charitable and civic organizations within El Segundo. He is member and treasurer for the El Segundo Rotary Club, a board member for the El Segundo Education Foundation, treasurer at his local church, and past president of the El Segundo Chamber of Commerce. He served ESUSD for 14 years as a member of the Board of Education, including four terms as president. He has resided in El Segundo since 1966, is an alumni of El Segundo High School, and a proud parent of three ESHS graduates.

Heather DeBlanc is a partner at the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore and chair of the firm’s Business and Facilities Practice Group. She has more than 25 years of experience representing nonprofit and public entity clients in construction law, with a special emphasis on educational facilities. She advises clients on construction transactions, including bidding, design, prequalification, payment and performance issues, and construction contract documents. She earned her juris doctor degree from Pepperdine School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has resided in El Segundo since 2008 and has two children in the El Segundo Unified School District.

Bill Gookin is a stay-at-home parent to two ESUSD high school students. A recent transplant to El Segundo, he moved from Arlington, Virginia with his family in mid 2019. When he isn’t busy with his children, he develops software targeted toward civil engineers. He previously worked as a civil engineer and is a registered professional engineer in California and Texas (inactive). Gookin earned a doctorate degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from Arizona State University.

Scott Layne is a general contractor and the third-generation owner of CC Layne & Sons, an El Segundo based construction company established in 1959. Layne has worked in industrial, commercial, and residential construction throughout his career. He was born and raised in El Segundo and is an El Segundo High School class of 1993 alumnus. He earned a degree in technology management and building construction at Utah Valley University. After college, Layne returned to El Segundo with his wife Emilee to work for and eventually assume management of CC Layne & Sons. They raised three children who attended school within the El Segundo School Unified District.

S. Tesse Rasmussen is a full-time transportation “plan-gineer” who works with transit agencies to plan and fund mega-infrastructure projects. She focuses on the early stages of project development by laying the groundwork for successful funding, delivery, and program development to meet the needs of the traveling public in a timely and fiscally sound manner. She is a junior partner and founding member of InfraStrategies, a specialty infrastructure firm based in California, and works on projects across the country from Washington, D.C. to Honolulu, HI. In her free time, she serves as the president of the El Segundo PTA Council and volunteers at Richmond Street School’s fundraising events. She is also involved with the national steering committee for Rail~Volution, an international organization with the goal of improving the linkages between transit and land use. She studied civil engineering at Bucknell University and urban planning at the University of Southern California. She is an ESUSD parent with two children spreading their wings at Richmond Street School. 

Mike Rotolo is president of TG Construction, an El Segundo based industrial, commercial, and institutional general contractor. He works on the construction of both public and private projects. Rotolo has served on various ESUSD bond facility advisory committees since 1998. He is currently a member of the City of El Segundo’s Capital Improvement Advisory Committee, and president of the El Segundo Scout House Association. A resident of El Segundo since 1990, he and his wife, Mary, raised two children who attended El Segundo schools.

Lisa Rushing is an independent consultant who works with K-12 and non-profit organizations focused on improving education for all students. Previously, as Deputy Director at the Broad Center, her work included  innovative learning models and online learning for the Broad Academy, a national training program for school system leaders. In addition, Lisa served in various roles at Chicago Public Schools. Lisa began her career as a software and management consultant helping private and public sector organizations improve their business processes. She holds a BA in mathematics and sociology from Northwestern University and a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in education policy from the University of Chicago. Lisa lives in El Segundo with her husband and her son, a 9th grader at ESHS.

Dr. William Watkins began teaching English at El Segundo High School in 1963. He and his family moved to El Segundo in 1972.  Watkins served as assistant principal at El Segundo High School from 1980 until 1984 when he became the principal at ESHS.  In 1994, he became director of curriculum and instruction for the El Segundo Unified School District. Dr. Watkins served as superintendent for ESUSD from 1997 until his retirement in 2001. Following retirement, he served on the Education Foundation Board until he was elected to the ESUSD Board of Education, where he served from 2005 until 2018.

 He earned his doctorate degree in education institutional management from Pepperdine University, a master’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a bachelor’s degree from George Pepperdine College.