Board of Directors

The Journey School Governing Board (known as the Journey School Council) has members who bring a broad range of expertise and backgrounds to help serve the school. The Council consists of:

Michael Corbo
Council President
mcorbo@journeyschool.net

Mike Corbo is one of the founding parents of Journey School and was a member of the first Journey School Council where he served for the first two years of the school’s charter.

Michael Corbo has had children enrolled in Journey school since its inception.  His two daughters attended Journey K-6 and the oldest attends Chico State. Mr. Corbo’s middle child attended her freshman year at Orange County High School of the Arts followed by Mission Viejo High School, and his youngest child Dan, will be entering the 9th Grade; the first of his children to be at Journey the full eight years.

Professionally, Mr. Corbo has worked in the elevator and escalator industry for 30 years.  For the last 12 years, he has served as General Manager and Senior Vice President at Mitsubishi Electric where he is responsible for the daily operation, profit and loss of the US Elevator and Escalator Business. Mr. Corbo has also served for ten years on the board of directors for the National Elevator Industry Inc (NEII), currently as a board member and in the past as President and Vice President.

Sue Vaughn
Council Vice President

Sue Vaughn joined the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) in 2000 and served as the school principal from 2008 until 2012. She held a key role in the school’s development since it opened as a public charter school in 2000 and previously served as Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Sue was involved in every aspect of the school’s academic program, from serving as state test-coordinator, to academic advisor for students in grades 7-12, to developing the master schedule each year. She implemented the school’s curriculum which brought recognition as a California Distinguished School and No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon School. Additionally, Sue served as Chair of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation team that resulted in a six-year accreditation for the school.

Prior to joining the Orange County High School of the Arts, Sue taught education courses on the college level at California State University, Long Beach and in Missouri, and served as a teacher and learning specialist for Los Alamitos School District. She has more than 20 years’ expertise in the education field and has been involved in teacher training her entire career.

Kimberley Springer
Council Treasurer

Kimberly Springer is a nationally certified school psychologist with an MA in Teaching, Curriculum and Instruction including an emphasis in Reading and a MA in Educational Psychology.  She served as the Director of Special Education at Capistrano and Central California Connections Academy Charter School in Aliso Viejo and Visalia, CA for 3 years after serving as a middle school resource specialist for a number of years and principal of Arizona Connections Academy.

Alyson Smith
Faculty Member / Secretary
alyson@journeyschool.net

Alyson Smith is a 4th grade teacher at Journey School. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from UC, San Diego with concentrations in Humanities, Science and Education. She also holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from UC Irvine. Additionally, Mrs. Smith will graduate next spring from Rudolph Steiner College with a Waldorf Teaching Certificate and Master’s Degree.

Mrs. Smith has worked with children as an educator and coach for more than a decade. Mrs. Smith is especially passionate about environmental education and equipping students with 21st century skills. Away from school, Ms. Smith enjoys exercising, gardening, and spending time with her new husband, their dog Native, family, and many friends in the area. Ms. Smith was raised in San Clemente.

Jon Kaplan
Council Member
jkaplan@journeyschool.net

Jon Kaplan is Executive Director of Part-time and MBA Executive Programs for The Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. From 2004 to 2012, he served as Assistant Dean at Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business where he led the Full-Time MBA, Flex MBA and Executive MBA Programs.  He was also a part of the strategic planning team for the Argyros School and served as Faculty Athletics Representative for Chapman University.

Jon is an MBA graduate with honors from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and came to Chapman and Berkeley, after working for 5 years at UCLA Anderson, first as Associate Director of Admissions, and then as Associate Director of the Parker Career Management Center. Prior to getting his MBA, Jon graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and spent over a decade as Director of Operations for the UCLA Football Team, where he assisted the coaching staff in leading the team to national prominence.

Jon is on the Board of Directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Orange County chapter, and he is a co-author of a book entitled “The Early Career MBA.”  Jon’s daughter Mia is a 4th grader at Journey.

Colleen Patterson
Council Member
cpatterson@journeyschool.net

Colleen has 20 years of experience in K- 14 school districts, including Assistant Superintendent. She was named Business Official of the Year in 2008 by the Association of School Administrators. Her education includes an MBA in Finance from Chapman College, a BA in Business/Accounting from CSU Fullerton, and is a Certified Management Consultant. She is currently consulting in Interim Chief Business Official services and various functions for local school distircts.

Colleen is currently also serving as Chairman for the Journey School Foundation and is dedicated to supporting change in the world, through the stewardship and philanthropic model implicit at Journey Charter School and its community.

Michelle Spieker
Council Member
mspieker@journeyschool.net

As a mother of a Journey School 4th grader, Michelle Spieker feels fortunate to be part of such a rich and diverse educational philosophy and community. Ms. Spieker believes in Journey School and its potential. As a Council member, Ms. Spieker will actively strive to support the school’s mission and looks forward to the opportunity to help launch a development program to ensure Journey’s long-term success.

Ms. Spieker’s professional background includes entrepreneurial experience and marketing. Additionally, she is the author of The Cherished Self , as well as a speaker and workshop leader in the personal empowerment field. Most recently, Ms. Spieker’s focus has been to help spearhead Journey’s garden and ecology program.

Ms. Spieker and her husband, Tom, have two children. Their oldest child, Ella, is in fourth grade at Journey School and their four year-old, Kai, attends preschool. Ms. Spieker is honored to serve on Journey’s Council.

Lisa O’Neill
Parent Cabinet Member

TBA
CUSD Representative