Value Schools Leadership

Ms. Riley holds a bachelor's degree in History from California State University, Fullerton, and a master's in Educational Leadership from Loyola Marymount University with a specific focus on Charter School Leadership. She has over 15 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and administrator, and has been a major contributor to student success in primary and secondary educational environments. With a long history of understanding and implementing best practices on an instructional level, Ms. Riley fundamentally grasps the importance of our values. She understands that student potential, respect for oneself and others, developing caring communities and giving back all require a strong focus on academic excellence.

Rhonda Hoffarth has been a senior executive with broad business acumen and multi-discipline experience in small- to mid-size ($10M to $500M) companies for many years. Blending strategic focus with management execution, Ms. Hoffarth helped companies maintain their competitive advantage, mitigate corporate risk and grow four-fold. Ms. Hoffarth capitalized on learning agility which has allowed her to take on new, never-before-experienced challenges and successfully manage Value Schools' success.

Ms. Carmen Vazquez is a seasoned educator and equity advocate with a diverse background spanning leadership coaching, school administration, and teaching in culturally rich environments. With a pivotal role as a leadership coach, she collaborated closely with educational leaders to develop and implement strategies aimed at elevating student achievement from TK-12 grade, emphasizing equity and inclusion at every turn. Her extensive experience includes spearheading a network's Multilingual strategy, founding and successfully leading an urban high school, and instructing in culturally diverse settings. Her academic prowess shines through her multiple advanced degrees in education and leadership, underscoring her unwavering commitment to enhancing educational excellence and empowering both students and fellow educators through a steadfast dedication to equity and diversity in education.

Ms. Chavez brings a lifetime of experience to the role of Chief of Operations and Compliance at Value Schools. Ms. Chavez began working with Value Schools In 2005 as a 7th grade Math and Science teacher. She was promoted to Assistant Principal in 2007 and took the role of Principal in 2012. In those roles, Ms. Chavez worked collaboratively with teachers, staff, administrators and parents to ensure that students at Downtown Value School were academic achievers, goal seekers, respectful scholars, and global citizens. From 2017-2019, Ms. Chavez held the role of Attendance Specialist and helped raise ADA considerably and secure over $100,000 in additional educational funding for our schools each year. With a BS in Psychology from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), an MA in Education and Administrative Credential from the California State University, Sacramento, Ms. Chavez has supported students throughout her career. Her work with children in inner-city schools has been and continues to be her passion as she strives to remain knowledgeable about current community and education issues that impact students and their families.

Value Schools Foundation President David Doyle began his teaching career as a journalism teacher in 1984 when he joined Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He took the role of Vice Principal at Notre Dame in 1989, and Principal in 1991. During his Principalship, Mr. Doyle implemented a student-centered curriculum based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Fr. Basil Moreau’s philosophy of educating the “hearts and minds” of students and earned the school an Excellence in Education Award from the U.S. Department of Education. In 1997 Mr. Doyle left Notre Dame High School for an academic counseling position at Crespi High School in Encino, California. In 1998, after being appointed Principal at Crespi High School, he changed the educational approach there as he did at Notre Dame. In 2003, Dr. Jerome Porath, Value Schools founder and former Superintendent of Catholic Schools in Los Angeles, hired Mr. Doyle as Values Schools’ founding Principal at Central City Value High School. In 2015, Mr. Doyle left Central City Value to lead Value Schools’ second and then newly-chartered University Prep Value High School. In 2017, Mr. Doyle was hired by the Board of Directors of Value Schools as President and CEO of Value Schools and President of the Value Schools Foundation, In 2022, Mr. Doyle continued as President of the Value Schools Foundation after the board divided the responsibilities between Value Schools and the Value Schools Foundation. Mr. Doyle received his B.A. in American Studies from University of Notre Dame in 1984, and a M.A. of Education from University of San Francisco in 1995.

Joshua Julian has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit education, curriculum development and technical training. He focuses currently on fundraising, communications, event planning, and material production.

Jose Esquivel came to the United States when he was 17 years old. Jose joined the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) as a day laborer and became aware of the root causes of poverty. In 1995, he began teaching Spanish literacy, and later, taught English as a Second Language and US Citizenship classes. In 1997, he started teaching basic computer literacy to day laborers, domestic workers, ESL, and literacy volunteers. He became a self-taught computer specialist and provided technical support to staff, members, volunteers, and other organizations, continuing at IDEPSCA in the role of Director of the Technology Project. He also developed training programs and related materials for IDEPSCA's different projects. His involvement with IDEPSCA helped him learn to plan and facilitate workshops on popular education. Mr. Esquivel had a personal commitment to helping the poor, Latino immigrant and the disenfranchised. His bilingual and biliterate skills help to ensure the democratization of institutions as society come to grip with our current political reality.

Veronica is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who received her Bachelor's in Science from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, CA. She received her Master's in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration from Dominican University in River Forest, IL. Dominican University was also where Veronica completed her dietetic internship, providing nutritional services to communities in the inner cities and suburbs of Chicago. Since then Veronica has been utilizing her dietetic skills to help individuals, families and communities re-define their relationship with food. In addition, her specialization in nutrition informatics, weight management, disordered eating, adolescent and pediatric nutrition, mindful eating, and food service management, has allowed her to be successful in her previous role at Cedars-Sinai. Her leadership skills have contributed to developing sustainable healthy choices for consumers in both the English and Spanish speaking communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Veronica enjoys sharing her passion of cooking and "fun facts" with others about nutrition. She also enjoys the outdoors, playing soccer and sharing her yoga practice with friends and family. She is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the California Dietetic Association.

Guillermo brings over 20 years of diverse educational experience to Value Schools. A Los Angeles native, he has dedicated his career to serving the communities he calls home. His extensive background includes roles as a math teacher across elementary to high school levels, an adjunct math professor in the Los Angeles Community College District, a district-level math specialist, and a school administrator. Guillermo's expertise lies in creating bridges between rigorous mathematics teaching, research-based practices, and socio-emotional learning. He is passionate about providing equitable access to quality education for historically marginalized and underserved student populations. His academic achievements include a BS in Mathematics from UCLA, an MS in Math Education from Stanford University, and an MS in Educational Evaluation and Data Analysis from Claremont Graduate University. Guillermo is currently pursuing a PhD focused on STEM educational access at Claremont Graduate University.

Angel is a Special Education teacher at heart who believes education is a vehicle towards equity. With over 10 years of experience in the SPED field, Angel has used parent workshops to build community, developed and implemented systems that ensure delivery of Special Education services to students, and created new programming, such as transition classes for students with IEPs. His continued dedication to special education continues to drive how he approaches his work. Angel was a fellow with Diversity In Leadership Institute, and received his Master’s in Special Education from Loyola Marymount University.

Jessica holds a bachelor's degree in Government from Dartmouth College and a master’s in Higher Education Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Born and raised in Los Angeles's Highland Park neighborhood, she is deeply passionate about ensuring that all students have access to academically enriching, nurturing, and supportive schools. With a robust background as an Assistant Dean of Admission at Claremont McKenna College and as a Community Engagement Specialist for a credit union, Jessica has honed her expertise in establishing impactful community partnerships and recruiting students and their families. Her professional journey has equipped her with a keen understanding of enrollment strategies, parent engagement, and community outreach initiatives. Jessica is dedicated to leveraging her experience to drive positive change and assist Value Schools with their mission of providing a high quality, values based education to historically underserved students.

Rudy DeSantiago worked over fifteen years for Sodexo a French based food services and facilities management company as an operations manager and accountant. During his years with Sodexo he worked for Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Toyota’s North American Corporate Headquarters, California Science Center, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Kaiser Permanente and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. His experience with a diverse pool of industries and management of staffs large and small have proven to be an asset with employee and vendor relations. Rudy was born in Los Angeles and raised in nearby Sunland, CA. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Colorado Tech University.