Institute for School Innovation
Board
Officers
Mary Gunter, Chair
Principal, Liza Jackson Preparatory School, Fort Walton Beach, FL
William T. Krizner, Vice Chair
President, The Krizner Group, Tallahassee, FL
Curtis B. Richardson, Vice Chair of Marketing
General Consultant, Tallahassee, FL
Directors
Tim Beekman
Co-Founder and President, Safari Montage, Wynnewood, PA
Dr. Sarah M. (Sally) Butzin
Founder and Former Executive Director of the Institute for School Innovation, retired
Bob L. Harris
Attorney, Messer, Caparello & Self, Tallahassee, FL
Dr. David Johnson
Emeritus Professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Richard C. Kunkel
Professor (retired), Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Altha Manning
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL
Robert A. Morris
Ramar Group Companies, Inc., Sarasota, FL
Victoria Vangalis-Zepp
Partner, National Strategies, LLC
Board Profiles
Mary Gunter
Chair
Mary Gunter is a founding board member of the Institute for School Innovation. She currently serves as Principal of the Liza Jackson Preparatory School, a K-8 charter school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Ms. Gunter previously served as the Assistant Superintendent for the Okaloosa County (Florida) public schools, as well as Principal of Bluewater Elementary School in Niceville, Florida.
Ms. Gunter has long been active in curriculum renewal, including serving as the Project CHILD coordinator for the original pilot research in Okaloosa County. She coordinated the school improvement process for Okaloosa County for five years, and began the first pre-kindergarten program in the district. Her article on sustaining innovation, “Flight Training for a Pilot Program,” was published in the National School Board Journal.
William T. Krizner
Vice Chair
Bill Krizner is the founder of the Krizner Group, an employment law boutique in Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to that, he led the employment law division at Collins & Truett. Mr Krizner’s background includes extensive experience in client counseling, employment law litigation, and governmental investigations.
Mr. Krizner has published numerous articles and is a frequent speaker on human resource issues. Bill is active in his church, and serves on the board for Twelve Churches. He also has been mentoring a young man in the Big Brother program for the twelve years. He is the father of three young daughters.
Curtis B. Richardson
Curtis Richardson currently serves as Director of School Improvement for the Gadsden District Schools in Quincy, Florida. Mr. Richardson recently completed a distinguished eight-year career as a legislator in the Florida House of Representatives, having been unable to run again due to term limits. In the legislature he was a champion of public education, an advocate for government employees and proponent for accessible, affordable healthcare for all citizens. Rep. Richardson has been recognized for work in the legislature by being named Legislator of the Year, and receiving the Friend of Education Award, Consumer Advocate Award, Humanitarian Award, the Morris Milton Award and more.
In the Fall of 1990 his career in public service began with his election to the Leon County School Board. He was the first Black male elected to that post in the history of the district and served two years as Board Chairman. He has served in numerous civic capacities. For his service he has been named Alpha Man of the Year, Citizen of the Year, Black Achiever, and Volunteer of the Year. In addition, he has received the Outstanding Practice in School Psychology Award, Servant's Heart Award, Outstanding Leadership Award and numerous others.
Directors
Tim Beekman
Timothy R. Beekman, President & Co-Founder, SAFARI Montage, was founder of Dynacom, Inc., and a partner/owner of the former SAFARI Technologies, Inc. Mr. Beekman holds a BSEE from Western Michigan University and a First Class Broadcast License. He was honored as "Fellow of the Decade" by Ball State University Center for Communication Sciences and served as Director of Technology for Grand Rapids Public Schools. Currently, he is president and co-founder of SAFARI Montage, and brings leadership and focus to the team. Mr. Beekman has pioneered the integration of video technology in the classroom through projects like AT&T School of the Future initiative and the "Campus of the Future" at Ball State University. Under Mr. Beekman's leadership, SAFARI Montage has grown to be an industry leader in Educational Video Integration Technologies in both analog and digital formats. Mr. Beekman currently serves on the IMS Global Learning Consortium Board of Directors.
Dr. Sarah M. (Sally) Butzin
Dr. Sarah M. (Sally) Butzin is the co-founder of the Institute for School Innovation, where she served as President and Executive Director. She is the developer of the Project CHILD instructional system. She holds a Ph.D. in Elementary Education from Florida State University, a Master of Science in Reading and Elementary Education from Florida State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from DePauw University.
Recent awards and honors include the 2008 Florida State University College of Education Distinguished Educator Award, and being named in 2010 as one of "25 Women You Need to Know" by the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. She was the featured "education innovator" in the Fall 2010 Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin.
Dr. Butzin's book, Joyful Classrooms in an Age of Accountability: The Project CHILD Recipe for Success, was published by Phi Delta Kappa in April, 2005.
Bob L. Harris
Bob Harris is an attorney and shareholder with the law firm of Messer, Caparello & Self, PA. His practice includes educational and administrative law, providing representation to a variety of public and private educational institutions and associations. He serves as the General Counsel for the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC), a consortium of 14 northwest Florida school districts.
Mr. Harris has served as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Educational Access, Office of Civil Rights, Washington, DC, 1995-1998; as a member of the Keiser University Advisory Board, 1996-2000; and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Florida Metropolitan University, 1998-2005. Mr. Harris is an active community volunteer, including serving as host president for the Babe Ruth World Series held in Tallahassee.
David Johnson
David is the Co-Director of the Cooperative Learning Center. He held the Emma M. Birkmaier Professorship in Educational Leadership at the University of Minnesota from 1994 to 1997 and the Libra Endowed Chair for Visiting Professor at the University of Maine in 1996-1997. He received the American Psychological Association's 2003 Award for Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Practice. In 2007 he received (with his brother Roger) the Brock International Prize in Education administered by the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma. In 2008 he received the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award from the American Education Research Association and in 2011 he was awarded the Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.
David has authored over 500 research articles and book chapters and over 50 books. He is a past-editor of the American Educational Research Journal. For the past 40 years he has served as an organizational consultant to schools and businesses throughout the world. Davis is also a practicing psychotherapist.
Dr. Richard C. Kunkel
Rich Kunkel is a retired Professor in the College of Education at the Florida State University, and served as Dean of the college until June of 2005. He was the Wayne T. Smith Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership and Dean of Education at Auburn University’s College of Education from January 1, 1990 through June 2001. Dr. Kunkel currently serves as a consultant to Panasonic of America, EdDesign Group, and as a Trustee with Ellis University in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1992, Dr. Kunkel was elected to the Board of Directors of the Holmes Group and in 1998 was appointed to Holmes Partnership as Executive Director. The Holmes Partnership is a national organization of leading research universities in partnership with local schools and organizations in cooperation to improve student performance. Previously, he served as Executive Director of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Evaluation (NCATE) beginning in 1984. Prior to this position, Dr. Kunkel served as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Particularly skilled in the areas of program evaluation and staff development, Dr. Kunkel has served as consultant to the U.S. AID programs, to Teacher Corps and teacher centers, to the Lilly Endowment and Danforth Foundation, the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Education, and as a long term evaluator to Cities in Schools and various bilingual and Hispanic education projects. He has authored numerous articles, monographs, and technical evaluation reports.
Altha Manning
Altha Manning has a long and distinguished career in education and public service. In 2008 she retired as the Executive Director of Alumni Affairs at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida. She served as Interim Vice President for Research at the university in 2005. Ms. Manning She was Director of the Florida Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation in 2000-2002. From 1987-1995 she filled many leadership positions in the Florida Department of Education including Deputy Commissioner and Bureau Chief.
Ms. Manning has traveled and presented extensively on education topics. Among her many awards include the NAACP Outstanding Black Achiever Award in 1989 and 1992, and Distinguished Community Leader and Administrator Award presented by The Society, Florida State University in 1994.
Robert A. Morris
Bob was born in Cleveland, Ohio, received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Florida with the designation "The Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects Outstanding Graduate of 1965", taught at the University; received a master's degree; and completed the course work for a Ph.D. in Economics. He has pursued a career in real estate development and finance since founding his own firm, The Ramar Group Companies, in 1970. His companies have built over 6,500 homes in the Gulf Coast and several million square feet of shopping centers and office buildings in the Southeast. He has been a community leader in Sarasota County since 1970, chairing numerous non-profit business and charitable organizations.
Bob has earned a reputation as one of the most active and knowledgeable leaders in the statewide effort to reform education and was founding Chairman of the Florida Chamber's World Class Education Reform effort as well as chairing the K-12 Education committee, the Human Affairs Committee, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Florida Council of 100 for many years. He has been appointed to chair major reform efforts in the State for over 25 years by five different Governors of both parties. He and his wife Pam have five children.
Victoria Vangalis-Zepp
Victoria Vangalis-Zepp is the CEO and managing partner of Zepp Strategic Partners (ZSP), a private consulting firm that offers government and business-to-business marketing, communications, strategic partnership and development solutions to clients throughout the years. While at ZSP, she also held the position of Executive Director for the Center for Competitive Florida at Florida TaxWatch; and over the years prior to ZSP Victoria held positions of Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Florida Virtual School; Government Affairs and Philanthropy, Intermedia Communications; and National Sales & Marketing Executive with Dun’s Marketing-Dun & Bradstreet, N.A. Victoria was appointed to Governor Jeb Bush’s Gubernatorial Transition Team to lead evaluation of the governor’s State Technology Agency –now part of the Department of Management Services and AEIT.
Milestone successes include advocating policy that became landmark legislation modeled across the nation. As the Center for Competitive Florida Executive Director she developed and delivered an immigration and visa policy program which produced a report recognizing the impact to states and was cited by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. Changes were successfully made to legal visa policy in North America.
Victoria’s commitment to community is strong as she serves on numerous boards including The Trust for Florida’s Children, Inc.; Florida State University Board of the College of Communications and Information Science; University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning; the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists; The Women for FSU; Keys to Exceptional Youth Success; Women in Telecommunications; and Center for Autism and Related Disabilities to name a few.
Victoria has won several awards including the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists Outstanding Achievement Award; International Association of Business Communicators Silver Quill Award for B2B Event Marketing; American Marketing Association TAMY Award for Not-For-Profit Campaign; Florida Commissioner of Education’s Partner Recognition Award; Women of Distinction in Business, Finance and Insurance; Top 25 Women to Know; and the Florida Cabinet for Service to Education. She resides in Tallahassee with her husband Randy and son, Zachary.