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Director: David Cherry

Mr. Cherry has 37 years experience in educational equity issues.  After graduating from the University of Florida School of Law, he was a Staff Attorney for Florida Rural Legal Services, a migrant farm worker legal services program in south Florida.  He later directed the Pima County Legal Aid Society in Tucson, Arizona.  He also served with the U. S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region VIII in Denver, Colorado.  He then served as Director of Equity Development for Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), the second largest school district in Arizona.

Assistant Director:  Marcela Parra

Marcela Parra, who earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University, has eight years educational experience in public schools, as a a certified teacher, paraprofessional, parental liaison in a K-6 school setting, and Title VII Bilingual grant director at the middle school level.  As the Coordinator of National Origin for the Midwest Equity Center for the last six years, she assisted in the identification and implementation of curricular materials that ensure academic achievement in reading, math, and science for all students, conducted training for English as a Second Language programs development and implementation and has provided services in the identification and teacher training in the use of assessment instruments for English Language Learners. She evaluated the Title VII Bilingual education (K-5), Title IV Indian Education Evaluation, and a Title VII Special Alternative Instruction programs. She has written papers on such topics as literacy, issues in bilingual program evaluation, the sociolinguistic environment of a bilingual school and evaluation of maintenance and transitional bilingual programs.

Frances B. Miller, retired Sierra Vista Public School District educator with 27 years of previous career assignments as high school principal, district coordinator of human resources, assistant high school principal, elementary and high school media specialist and city librarian’s assistant. Several interim assignments have included the following:  county coordinator of education services, district administrator on special assignment, Library Science (SC State University), Master in Teaching/Educational Administration and Secondary Education (University of Arizona).

Mike Tully has been  a licensed attorney for nearly three decades and is in good standing with Arizona Courts and the federal court system.  He has also been a professional broadcaster for 40 years and co-hosted a radio talk show before joining WREN. Mike has also written an Internet column since 2003.  After 15 years in private practice, Mike worked as Legal Counsel and Equal Opportunity Specialist for the Tucson Unified School District.  He is the webmaster for WREN and works with our clients to coordinate E-Learning, including interactive web pages, online courses, web conferences, and video training.  Mike is also familiar with the operation of the U. S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and can assist clients in formulating responses to OCR complaints.  Mike provides in-service training in the areas of anti-discrimination law, NCLB, and harassment & bullying.  Mike is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Bullying Prevention Association and is a Certified Trainer with the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.  Mike has also written and spoken extensively on the new and growing danger of cyber-bullying.  You may view Mike's Vita Here.

Kim Jacobs' administrative experience with budgeting, payroll, procurement, and scheduling makes a major contribution to her role as Office Manager.  Kim Jacobs will probably be the first person you speak with when you contact WREN.  Kim Jacobs' work experience includes several years at the Tucson Unified School District where her work assignment emphasized helping schools with equity-based issues.

Principal Investigator:  Richard Ruiz

Richard Ruiz, Principal Investigator, earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University (1980).  Richard Ruiz is a Faculty Fellow, one of only 30 at the University of Arizona, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the promotion of the interests and experiences of students. Richard Ruiz has been a professor of Language, Reading and Culture, since 1993 and has faculty affiliations in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching and in Latin American Studies. He has engaged in research on a variety of issues concerning Language planning, policy development in education, bilingualism and ethnicity, multiculturalism and deaf education. Dr. Ruiz also teaches in the areas of language planning and the education of language minority children.  Richard Ruiz also served as AERA (American Educational Research Association) Director of Social Justice. 

Sally Stevens, Senior Advisor, EAC Program Evaluation

Sally Stevens, Senior Advisor, EAC Program Evaluation, is the Executive Director of SIROW and will provide overall guidance and support for the evaluation component. Dr. Stevens earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on cognitive development and research design and statistics. Her thesis and dissertation work examined differences in spatial reasoning. Since then, Dr. Stevens has served as Principal Investigator and Evaluator of numerous research grants and has worked with multiple schools and school systems in southern Arizona with regard to school – community mobilization; small learning communities within large high schools; alcohol, drug and risky sexual behavior prevention programs; and mentoring programs for ethnic minority youth.

Formative, Process, & Outcome Evaluations - SIROW will conduct formative, process, and outcome evaluations to identify facilitators and barriers to progress and support the UA/COE EAC in implementing its mission and achieving its goals. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, SIROW will provide formative criticism from the beginning to engage school districts, educational agencies, parents, and students in productive ways to improve educational experiences for all children.

Christine Bracamonte Wiggs works with Dr. Sally Stevens on the evaluation component and interacts frequently with the WREN staff.  Her primary objective is helping WREN develop evaluation instruments, such as the Client Satisfaction Survey and Knowledge Change Survey.

Pat Trandal, a retired educator, is WREN's representative in Southern California.  Pat can be reached at the following telephone numbers:        (619) 992-4102 (cell), (619) 460-7894 (land) and (619) 462-7585 (fax).

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