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Erika Melton Board Chair emelton@cwcharter.org Erika Melton is excited to continue her journey as a member of the Board of Directors for Connecting Waters Charter Schools. As a parent at CWCV for 8 years, she has watched her two children excel and grow while utilizing the many resources CWCV has to offer. With an early interest in and love of education, Erika earned her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education with a Minor in Exceptional Youth from CSU, Stanislaus and began her career working in and later managing children’s centers. Following the birth of her first child, she opened her own family day care, so she could continue to teach and work with children while prioritizing the individual needs of her growing family. Erika is currently a proud mom to a pre-teen and a teenager who are entering the 6th and 9th grade. In addition to homeschooling her children, Erika leads her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop and also runs a small business from home that allows her to create passion projects that utilize her creativity and love of educating. As her children have grown, she has continued to seek out roles for herself that allow her to teach, including those with a focus on one of her dearest passions, sewing! When not behind an embroidery machine, Erika can be found enjoying time with her family and friends, snuggling with her 5 (that’s right FIVE!) guinea pigs, sipping on her favorite chai tea latte, and engaging in her local community. Beginning her new role as Board Co-Chair, Erika is excited and committed to ensuring the continuing success of the school and its amazing community of stakeholders—from students, parents, faculty, and staff.
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Jennifer Louie-Monzon Board Vice Chair jlouie-monzon@cwcharter.org Jennifer Louie-Monzon is a dedicated parent at Connecting Waters East Bay (CWEB) and a seasoned homeschooling advocate. A Bay Area native, her family's educational path evolved when her son, a gifted child with impulsive-type ADHD, found his ideal learning environment through homeschooling. After careful research and his decision to embrace it, he began with Connecting Waters Charter Schools (CWCS), where he's now happily in his eighth year. While her daughter initially joined her brother at CWEB, she's recently chosen to return to their local middle school, a decision that truly reflects Jennifer's belief in students taking equal ownership in their educational journey. Professionally, Jennifer holds a degree in biomedical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and has built a career in the life sciences industry, focusing on healthcare innovation and technology. Beyond her professional life, her commitment to education and community is evident through extensive volunteer work. Before becoming a CWEB parent, she held various PTA officer positions at her children's public school, including an impactful two-year term as PTA President. During her presidency, she championed three core principles: fostering stronger relations with school leadership, sponsoring programs that fairly benefited all students, and modernizing PTA operations for greater efficiency. She also co-leads her daughter's Girl Scouts troop, an experience that's given her hands-on insight into managing a "small non-profit." Jennifer is enthusiastic about sharing her professional and volunteering experiences, along with her deep dedication to supporting students and their parents, with the CWCS Board.
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Bonnie Cerruti Board Secretary bcerruti@cwcharter.org Bonnie was a parent of two students attending CWCS, for over 16 years. Her youngest attended K-12th, graduating as a National Honors Society Student, a 4 year CA Scholarship Federation Student and with over 40 units of college under her belt when graduating. As a parent, Bonnie served on the Parent Council Board and understands the parent perspective. Bonnie has a heart for children and for volunteering. She founded and served as executive director for The Sonora Children's Theatre. The theatre school employed over 15 instructors teaching in a wide variety of theatrical fields and was also a vendor for CWCS, giving Bonnie exposure to the vendor side of things. After leaving the Sonora area and back in the valley, Bonnie found herself creating engaging curriculum and instructing as a “small group leader," at the Modesto and Ceres Learning Centers. She was employed by the school for 9 years giving her experience as a school employee and the opportunity to meet several of the amazing families that attended CWCS, along with many of the wonderful staff. She was enlightened by seeing a glimpse of the "behind the scenes" work that takes place at the learning centers and the library. With a heart for volunteering, she has served with The Carole Sund- Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, on the committee for Valley Home Educators and as the Guild President for Juline Regional Youth Ballet along with serving over five years on the school board. Other experience includes managing a United Express Airline station, inside sales for the Modesto Bee and currently managing properties while overseeing the complete remodel of 2 apartment complex’s. After spending 10 years as a security supervisor at major events such as NFL football games, PGA, Superbowl, college games and concerts, she is now encouraging her youngest as she trains to be a commercial pilot and her middle daughter as she works as an organic gardener and takes culinary classes to be a farm to fork chef. Bonnie has 3 daughters, 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. Along with the arduous task of learning to sail, Bonnie enjoys reading, traveling, cooking and her Jeep.
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Kaneez Fatima Board Member
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Kristen Corrales Board Member
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Lydia Addipah Board Member