Authority Members

Appointed By: Speaker of the Assembly  
Term End: 06/30/2028

Chair Kurt Thigpen is the first openly LGBTQ+ Nevadan to serve on the SPCSA board.  He holds an Associate’s Degree in Website Design and has spent the past 10 years as CEO of Ace Studios — building a global marketing agency that uplifts mission-driven brands. He also has personally advocated for innovative public education initiatives, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for student scholarships across the country, and gives back to his community however he can.  

In 2021, Governor Steve Sisolak appointed him to the Community College Workforce Training and Programs Committee, where he helped establish a $5 million Workforce Investment Grant to expand free community college training and elevate earning potential for Nevada residents. 

As Chair of the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority, a licensed Nevada substitute teacher, and a former elected Washoe County School Board Trustee, he brings both firsthand classroom insight and high-level governance expertise to shaping state education policy, oversight, and accountability standards. 

Appointed By: Senate Majority Leader
Term End: 06/30/2028

Ty Whitaker is an owner and Chief Operating Officer of The Abbi Agency, one of Nevada’s most respected public relations firms.  A former water quality scientist, he approaches his work professionally and on the SPCSA with a statistical eye for data collection and results a skill he perfected while documenting trace minerals and chemical in groundwater across Northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe watersheds.

 

Appointed By:  Office of the Governor
Term End:  12/31/28

Janelle Addis serves as the Executive Director of the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas, leading strategic efforts to advance college access, student achievement, and educational equity for youth across the Las Vegas Valley. Since joining the organization, she has held multiple leadership and programmatic roles, providing her with comprehensive experience in nonprofit operations, student support systems, and community-based education initiatives. Ms. Addis holds a Master’s degree in Urban Leadership from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and brings experience as an educator in both public and private school settings, as well as in youth advocacy and community programming. She has also served as a youth nutrition advocate with Three Square Food Bank, supporting initiatives that address barriers to student success. In addition, she has been a charter school parent for over a decade and previously served as Board Treasurer for a charter school, contributing governance, financial oversight, and education policy expertise to her work advancing equitable and accountable educational outcomes.

 

Appointed By: Speaker of the Assembly
Term End: 06/30/2026

Dr. Ivet Aldaba is a Mexican American first-generation college graduate who earned her BS in Human Services Counseling with a minor in Communication Studies, an MA in Social Work, and a Doctorate in Public Policy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Aldaba has worked in the not-for-profit sector, focusing on Macro and Micro level Social Work. Children and youth are at the center of importance in the work of Dr. Aldaba. She was appointed by the late Governor Kenny Guinn to serve on the Juvenile Justice Commission and was a member of the grant committee. Dr. Aldaba is a faculty member serving as a lecturer and as the MSW Graduate program and admissions coordinator with the UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs School of Social Work. She is a licensed clinical social worker in Nevada, specializing in trauma-informed care.  Dr. Aldaba may wear many hats, but her role as a mother to two daughters, who attend a NV Charter School, inspires her to pursue her passions and never forget the plight of others.

The SPCSA board is a professional, diverse group of Nevadans whose schools are in high demand and are getting great results for kids. They take care of business without the theatrics plaguing many of today’s public bodies. By all available metrics, the charter sector is one of the bright spots in the Nevada education landscape.

Appointed By: Senate Majority Leader
Term End: 06/30/2027

Rosanne Richards has master's degree in educational administration. She has served in various leadership roles in Nevada’s largest school district, including a literacy coach and a director of college, career, equity, and school choice.  She currently serves as the executive director to the Office of the Superintendent. Rosanne is affiliated with numerous professional organizations and committees, including the Clark County Association of School Administrators, Professional-Technical employees, Return on Investment Committee, and the Superintendents Anti-Racism Committee. 

 

 

Appointed By: Charter School Association of Nevada
Term End: 06/30/2026

Victor M. Salcido is a licensed attorney, having been admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Salcido graduated with dual degrees from the University of San Diego, graduating Cum Laude. He studied abroad at ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara as an undergraduate and at Gonzaga in Florence through Gonzaga Law School. After law school, Mr. Salcido clerked for the Honorable Brent Adams of the Second Judicial District Court of Nevada. He has served on multiple boards, including the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada and Renown's Community Advisory Board. In 2022, Mr. Salcido completed the Corporate Governance Program at Columbia Business School, Executive Education Program. In 2023 he obtained a Graduate Certificate in New Testament Studies from the Reformed Theological Seminary. Since 2021, he has served as General Counsel for Community Health Alliance, a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center. Mr. Salcido is fully bilingual having been raised in a Spanish speaking household and is a first generation college graduate.
   

Appointed By: Office of the Governor
Term End: 08/31/2028

Tamika Shauntee Rosales is a native Nevadan. She was born and raised in Las Vegas and received her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and her Master's degree in Judicial Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has worked with many well-known law firms in the state of Nevada including McDonald Carano Wilson and Beckley Singleton, Chtd.

Tamika is a current Executive Committee Member for the Local Las Vegas Branch of the NAACP Chapter 1111. She has always been a huge advocate for the underserved populations.

 

Appointed By: State Board of Education
Term End: 06/30/2027

Courtney Stern is a California-licensed attorney with experience in business and employment litigation. In addition to her BA in Literature and J.D., she is a National Board Certified Teacher, holds an MA in English, and just completed a second Master's in Educational Policy and Leadership. For the last 16 years, she has worked at various public and private schools in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where she has designed and taught 34 courses for ELA, social studies, CTE, and electives to meet the needs of students ranging from multilingual newcomers to Honors and Advanced Placement. She has served on numerous policy and curriculum task forces for CCSD. She has also held a range of leadership roles, including elementary School Site Director, middle and high school Law and Policy Program Lead, and National Board Cohort Facilitator. She is currently the Lead Instructional Coach at a comprehensive high school in CCSD, where, among other responsibilities, she oversees Tier I curriculum implementation for ELA, math, science, social studies, and special education and has helped lead the English department to a 90% increase in ELA proficiency. She has served on the SPCSA board since July 2024.

 

Appointed By: Board of Education 

Term End: 06/30/2029

Victoria Turner is a passionate, highly effective instructional leader with over 15 years of dedicated service to Nevada’s public education system. As the proud parent of two children who attend a Nevada charter school, Victoria brings a deeply personal commitment and first-hand perspective to her alignment with the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA). She witnesses daily the profound impact that innovative, student-centered, and accountable learning environments have on child development and academic success. 

Before discovering her true calling in education, Victoria earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Broadcast Journalism and worked professionally in the television news industry in Mississippi. This background in media and communication sharpened her ability to connect with diverse audiences, a skill that has been foundational to her success as a community-driven educational leader. 

Victoria holds a Master's degree in Elementary Education and currently serves as an elementary school principal within the Clark County School District. She is well-known for being a champion of student achievement by restructuring schoolwide systems to ensure safe, transparent learning environments. She has dedicated her career to enhancing professional learning communities, implementing progressive restorative practices, and utilizing data-driven multi-tiered systems of support. As a proven turn-around instructional leader, Victoria has a track record of growing underperforming schools through rigorous progress monitoring, data analysis, and student accountability strategies. She successfully increased her school's star rating under the Nevada School Performance Framework for the first time in her school's history within a two-year time period. 

Victoria’s extensive career spans leadership and instructional roles across the K-12 spectrum, including serving as a teacher, learning strategist, and assistant principal on both the middle school and high school levels. Notably, her professional journey also includes deep roots within the Nevada charter school system, where she previously served at-risk students in both teaching and leadership roles. 

By seamlessly combining her unique background in media communication, her robust administrative expertise, and her lived experience as a charter school parent, Victoria is uniquely positioned to support the SPCSA’s vital mission: ensuring every Nevada child has access to a diverse, equitable, and high-quality public school education.