ACE Board of Directors

IN MEMORIAM

 

Tony Skinner (ACE Board President and School Founder 2010-2020) aged 66

Tony Skinner was a lifelong resident of Ventura County. He served as the Business Representative for the Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council, a position held since 2005. He was the President of the IBEW Local 952 and was a trustee on the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee since 2002. In addition, Mr. Skinner also sat on the Workforce Investment Board of Ventura County. He was the ACE Board President for 10 years and he made ACE Charter High School possible, an achievement of his above all others since the time he began working on it in 2005. We all owe him our thanks.

 

Current Members of the Board of Directors:

 

David Carlson

David Carlson is an Architect and Certified Access Specialist. He is the Director of Planning, Design, & Construction at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI). A member of the ACE Board since 2010, Mr. Carlson has served the students of ACE for all 16 of the school’s years. In addition to the ACE Charter High School Board, he also served on the Board of the Camarillo Ranch Foundation. Mr. Carlson is the third ever President of the ACE Charter High School Board of Directors.

 

Wanda Kelly

Wanda Kelly serves as the Director of Partnerships, Innovations, and Principal Support for the Rio School District within its Educational Services Department. In her role, she focuses on building and maintaining community partnerships with parents, educational institutions, and business leaders to support 21st-century learning and research opportunities across the district's school sites. Additionally, she supports school principals and oversees innovative educational programs designed to foster student engagement, critical thinking, and academic achievement. While her primary administrative work centers on driving district-wide community collaboration and principal support in Oxnard, California, her background in educational leadership highlights a strong commitment to empowering educators and enhancing student learning environments. Ms. Kelly has been a member of the ACE Board since 2025.

 

Velma Lomax

Velma Lomax lived in Ventura County over 50 years, served on the Board of Directors for Ventura Unified School District for 29 years, taught at Ventura High School in Ventura and then ACE Charter High School in the Engineering and Robotics program when she retired after 19 years of teaching. As a CTE teachers, she taught skill-based courses, finally ending up teaching robotics to high school student. Her robotics course was enter in the FIRST Robotics world-wide competitions and she started more than 13 teams in Ventura County. She was instrumental in forming the Flying Aces robotics team at ACE Charter and it is still going strong today. When asked to be on the Board of ACE is was a simple answer. She now lives in North/Central California but still has a passion for the success of ACE and robotics. She serves as a Regional Director for FIRST Robotics in Northern and Central California, hosting several events for high school teams from all over California each year. She understand the rigor of FIRST and STEM and works tirelessly to bring about a solid, STEM based course as a result. ACE

has a very successful robotics team to this day.

 

Richard Niday

Richard Niday was originally born in Santa Barbara and has been a Ventura County resident for the last 20 years. Mr. Niday currently serves as the Assistant Business Manager for Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 District-3 and is the Co- chair for the Tri-Counties Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee.  He is also the Co-chair for Local 104’s Labor & Management Cooperative Committee and the Plan Administrator for the 401(A) Plan.  He has been an ACE Charter High School Board Member since 2016.

 

Dr. Eliseo Gonzalez

Dr. Eliseo Gonzalez is a long-time resident of Ventura County. He enjoys watching his children play sports, camping, and taking spontaneous vacations when possible.  He served as the HSI Title V Grant Director at Oxnard College for over 10 years and as Interim Dean of Student Services. He is currently working for Ventura College at their East Campus location  He is honored to have been chosen to serve on the ACE Charter High School Board and looks forward to continuing to serve the school and the community in the years to come. A position he has held since 2023.

 

Monica Phillippe

Monica Phillippe has dedicated over 25 years to empowering students as a high school counselor, teacher, administrator, and current Director of Career Education for the Oxnard Union High School District. Monica’s deep passion for Career Technical Education (CTE) is rooted in her own experience as a vocational education student. As a young parent, the guidance of her business teachers not only shaped her academic journey but gave her the confidence to pursue a business teaching degree. Driven by the belief that CTE equips students with both the technical expertise and essential soft skills needed for lifelong success, Monica is committed to shaping productive, community-minded citizens. She is honored to serve on the board to advance ACE Charter High School’s mission and vision.

 

Omar Almaguer

Omar Almaguer was born in Oxnard, California. He has been a member of the IBEW Electrical Union for 14 years. He is currently a business representative for the IBEW Local 952. He is responsible for the ACE Executive and has been a member of the ACE Board of Directors since 2024.