Elena Schoonmaker-Gates, Board Chair

Elena is originally from Seattle, Washington, but has lived in Indiana, Canada, and Spain. A decade ago, she and her husband settled in Burlington, North Carolina, and they now have two children, Diego and Isabel, who currently attend Alamance Community School. Elena always knew she wanted to teach and holds a PhD from Indiana University (IU-B) in Hispanic Linguistics with a concentration in Second Language Acquisition. She is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Elon University, where she has taught all levels of Spanish since 2012. In her professional life, Elena is passionate about teaching, pedagogy, Spanish, and her students! At Elon she has held multiple administrative roles too, including Adjunct Liaison, Spanish Major Coordinator, and currently Associate Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures. She has been teaching in higher education for 18 years, but her journey began much earlier, when she taught piano at the age of 17 and volunteered as a literacy coach for elementary-aged students in college. 

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Elena met her husband, Juanma, while spending her junior year of high school abroad in Spain, a transformative experience that led her to want to help all students achieve high levels of proficiency in a second language and to examine their own cultural norms and biases by learning about and experiencing other cultures. Juanma is a native Spanish speaker who has worked as a translator/interpreter/jack-of-all-trades at Audrey Garrett Elementary in Mebane since 2014. Elena, Juanma, Diego, and Isabel enjoy spending time together hiking, reading, walking their dog Toby, playing soccer, cooking, watching movies, playing board games, building with Legos, and making art!  

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As a parent, Elena is passionate about her kids and their learning, growth, and well-being! She is excited to be a member of the ACS Board because she believes firmly in the power of elementary and middle school education to have a positive and lasting effect on students’ lives, and believes everyone should have access to transformational educational experiences from an early age. 

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Sean Wiley, Vice Chair

Sean is a North Carolina native who grew up in Sedalia. Sean attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Computer Technology. He also holds an Associates in Christian Education from Apex School of Theology and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Arizona State University.

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Sean is married to his wife of 25 years, Kiara and they have one daughter. He enjoys spending time with his family and feels that a strong family builds strong individuals. Sean believes that a bonded community builds a family environment and believes family is more than blood or by marriage but by the people in your life that bonds are built on.

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Sean has a passion for learning and teaching. Sean is an ordained Elder and has served in Ministry for over 25 years. He is one who enjoys teaching and showing others through properly vetted information what an informed decision can do for their life.

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Sean is humbled and honored to serve on the School Board of Alamance Community School. He is one willing to work as needed to accomplish the goals set forth to promote a well-informed, well rounded learning environment for both students and staff.

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Yukie Kajita, Secretary

Yukie is originally from Fukushima, Japan, and came to US in 2003 to earn a PhD in Biology at Utah State University. After graduation, she was a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Kentucky, and a research assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She conducted multiple research projects ranging from quantitative ecology to population genetics funded by USDA and NSF. Her family moved to NC in 2017. Currently, she works as a Data Analyst in the Radiology Department, Epidemiology Research Division, at UNC Chapel Hill. She is very active in volunteering to support educational activities for children. For example, she conducted a Science Day at Smith Elementary in Burlington, by inviting multiple local agencies and companies. Also, she is a board member of the Alamance Children's Theare, and she was a producer for the SpongeBob Musical!

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Outside of work, Yukie enjoys gardening, cooking, and hiking with family and friends. She sees this position as a great opportunity to embrace her passion for strategic planning and problem-solving skills to provide solutions to ACS.

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Justin Smith, Treasurer

Justin  is  a  dedicated  school  administrator  with  18  years  of  experience  in  education.   Justin is a Lee County native and graduate of Lee County Senior High School.  Justin  attended  North  Carolina  State  University  and  earned  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  in  History  Education  in  2004. After  graduating  he  began  his  teaching  career  at  Jesse  O.  Sanderson  High  School  in  Raleigh,  NC. At  Sanderson  he  taught  a  variety  of  Social  Studies  courses  including  Civics  and  Economics,  World  History,  and  African  American  History.  At Sanderson High School, Justin held several leadership positions. In  2008,  Justin  applied  and  received  National  Board  Certification  in  Social  Studies  (9-12  Adolescents  and  Young  Adults). In  August  of  2010  he  accepted  the  prestigious  North  Carolina  Principal  Fellows  Scholarship  to  attend  North  Carolina  Central  University  to  earn  a  Master  of  School  Administration  degree. After  graduating  from  North  Carolina  Central  Magna  Cum  Laude  in  May  of  2012  he  accepted  an  Assistant  Principal  position  at  Voyager  Academy  High  School. At  Voyager  he  has  worked  closely  with  Principal,  Cory  Draughon,  to  establish  a  rigorous  Project  Based  Learning  academic  program. In  2015,  Justin  moved  to  Voyager  Academy  Middle  School  after  the  prior  administration  abruptly  parted  ways  with  Voyager. He  worked  quickly  to  reenergize  the  learning  community  and  solidify  the  school  culture. In  2017,  Justin  helped  establish  Ascend  Leadership  Academy,  a  charter  school  that  opened  in  Sanford,  NC  in  August  of  2018.    Justin led  ALA’s  Board  of  Directors  through  the  application  and  Ready  to  Open  Process  with  the  NC  Office  of  Charter  Schools, in addition to starting a high school. He  currently  serves  as  ALA’s  Managing  Director.

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Brenda Derrick

Brenda taught Physical Education in Durham, North Carolina for 40 years.  She began her career with Durham Public Schools (DPS), where she taught for 30 years. After retiring from DPS, she taught at Voyager Academy, a K - 12 charter school, for 10 years before retiring a second time.

Brenda grew up in Pulaski, Virginia and attended Virginia Intermont College graduating with a B.S. in Physical Education, Health, and Recreation (K-12).  Brenda is married and has two children and three grandchildren.  Playing golf, working out at CrossFit, going to the beach, and hanging out with friends are her hobbies.  Brenda is proud to serve on the ACS Board and is committed to building a positive and successful school community for our students, staff, and families. 

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Joselyn Calip

Jocelyn is a native of North Carolina, but has also lived in Florida and Dallas TX, where she met her husband, Jim. Jocelyn and her husband have been married for 13 years and they have two sons, Kenneth and Emmanuel, who both attend Alamance Community School. Their values in life stem from having a strong family core, where respect, empathy, and serving others help to build a great sense of community and compassion both in and out of the home. Jocelyn enjoys staying active with her boys outside, visiting different museums, parks, and community events to expand their intellectual, social, and physical enrichment, in addition to spending family time at home by watching movies, cooking, playing video games, and taking care of baby birds in the spring together. Jocelyn is very hands on with her boys’ learning at home and has even been a homeschool mom.

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One of her passions is finding great learning enrichment programs her boys can use at home to help complement their learning to keep them sharp and ahead on their skills in school, so they have a learning advantage to succeed. She also loves to share these resources and experiences with other parents and educators as she is passionate to see all children excel in their studies and life. Jocelyn loves children and is the neighborhood mom who loves to engage with all kids that cross her path, and invite her boys’ friends over to play, cook for them, and be another source of support for them. Many of them, she even volunteers to bring along to her boys’ church youth group. Jocelyn believes that all children are treasure and have so much beauty and potential, and with the right support, attention, opportunities, and cultivation, they can rise above any challenge, will shine and be great beacons of hope and light in the future. So, investing in the lives of children and their development is truly one of her greatest passions because she knows that investment will shape our tomorrow. Therefore, Jocelyn is very honored to be a member of the Alamance Community School Board.

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Jocelyn’s background is in nutrition education. She graduated with a B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is pursuing her licensure as a Registered Dietitian and Diabetes Educator. Her nutrition advocacy focuses are childhood obesity prevention, healthy eating habits for families and communities, and improving food insecurity and diabetes states in Alamance County. Jocelyn has taught nutrition education in many local schools, community programs, and collaborated on several nutrition research projects to help encourage healthy eating habits. Jocelyn is also completing her MBA from Fayetteville State University with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Project Management and plans to open her own nutrition consulting practice and kids gym, where she can offer opportunities for kids fun and fitness and activities that teach healthy eating for the entire family to improve community wellness. Jocelyn hopes to bring her bag of collective skills and passions in child learning and enrichment, nutrition education, community involvement and empowerment, and business management to help Alamance Community School rise to next level of excellence in education and child development.

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