Authority Members

 
Appointed By: State Board of Education
Term End: 06/30/2025

Dr. Tonia Holmes-Sutton, the board chair, Tonia Holmes-Sutton earned her BA in Liberal Arts (Social Studies) from Hawaii Loa College, her MA in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education, and her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She is a 24-year veteran educator, previously serving in school communities of high need and engaging students and families living in and experiencing poverty as members of marginalized communities. She is the principal founder of the Nevada National Board Professional Learning Institute: Empowering Teachers as Leaders and Learners. In this leadership capacity, she has supported teachers in over 20 states in personalized professional learning in pursuit of National Board certification, serving nearly 400 teachers in Nevada with an impact on approximately 65,000 Nevada students.  

Dr. Holmes-Sutton served on the Nevada State Board of Education as a governor-appointed member from 2014 to 2019. She currently leads as Board Chair for the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority Board (SPCSA), having served on the SPCSA Board since 2019. She has taught and led as a highly accomplished educator in traditional public schools and public charter schools and as a professor in teacher preparation programming at UNLV and Nevada State University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), earning the highest credential in the country that a teacher can attain (one of 3.5% NBCTs in the country). She is dually licensed to teach general education and special education in Nevada.  

Additionally, she serves on the WestED Board of Directors (San Francisco) and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Board of Directors (D.C.), informing educational leadership that impacts teachers throughout the United States. She has mentored and coached education colleagues to serve as the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024 Nevada Teachers of the Year and, in said capacity, supported colleagues in distinctly achieving and leading as the only National Teacher of the Year from Nevada and one of two National Teachers Hall of Fame inductees from Nevada. Dr. Holmes-Sutton is also recognized as the 2020 UNLV Alumna of the Year for the College of Education for her commitment and service in education and to the community in Nevada. She is also a contributing author to The Corona Chronicles on Leadership, Processes, Commitments, and Hope in Uncertain Times, The New Teachers Guide to Overcoming Common Challenges, and an upcoming book publication entitled Black Male Educators in American Classrooms: Recruitment, Retention, and K-12 Impact.

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

Vice 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 Vice 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: 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: Office of the Governor
Term End: 06/30/2026

Patricia Haddad Bennett, M.Ed has dedicated over a decade to advancing education research and policy in Nevada. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a specialization in system-level improvements for children with emotional/behavioral disorders and specific learning disabilities. Haddad Bennett’s professional experience includes leadership roles such as Director of Government Relations for Nevada’s largest school district, Chief of Staff for a national nonprofit dedicated to developing high-quality core curriculum for multilingual learners, and Chief of Staff/Senior Director of Public Policy for a Nevada education quality-focused nonprofit. In these capacities, she oversaw annual planning, accountability, community engagement, policy advocacy, operational management, human resources, and communications. Haddad Bennett has been instrumental in the establishment of several independent 501c3 organizations and previously served as board co-chair of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Southern Nevada. Haddad Bennett serves as a member of the State Public Charter School Authority, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Citizens Review Board, the City of Las Vegas Community Development Recommending Board, and the Downtown Las Vegas Neighborhood Coalition.

Appointed By: SPCSA Leadership

Term End: 06/30/2025 

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: Senate Majority Leader
Term End: 06/30/2025

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: Office of the Governor
Term End: 06/30/2025

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.