Board of Directors
VCS Board of Directors meetings during the 26-27 school year will be held on the following dates:
August 6th, 2026
September 24th, 2026
December 10th, 2026
January 21st, 2027
February 25th, 2027
May 13th, 2027
June 24th, 2027
Board Members
Joni Angel, Board Chair/President
Joni Angel is an accomplished leader in education policy and advocacy. She began her career
as a Teach For America corps member, teaching at both a traditional district school and a charter school. At the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), Joni spent twelve years in progressive roles, including Vice President of Political Affairs and Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer. Currently, as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Coalition for Excellent Public Schools (LACEPS), she leads a coalition of ten major Charter Management Organizations, focused on ensuring a political environment of quality and equity for 50,000 students across 115 schools. Joni holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Master’s in Teaching from Pace University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
as a Teach For America corps member, teaching at both a traditional district school and a charter school. At the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), Joni spent twelve years in progressive roles, including Vice President of Political Affairs and Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer. Currently, as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Coalition for Excellent Public Schools (LACEPS), she leads a coalition of ten major Charter Management Organizations, focused on ensuring a political environment of quality and equity for 50,000 students across 115 schools. Joni holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Master’s in Teaching from Pace University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.Rachel Hazlehurst, Board Member
Rachel Hazlehurst's passion for urban education and its' potential to positively impact communities began when she was a Teach for America corps member and fifth-grade bilingual
teacher at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy's Burlington Campus. Since then, she has served in a variety of leadership roles at Camino Nuevo. Rachel was the founding literacy and bilingual education coordinator at Camino Nuevo's Cisneros Campus when the school first opened in 2011. She then became the network's director of language and literacy, responsible for offering guidance, support, and oversight to ensure that teachers across the network were providing high-quality instruction to all students, especially multilingual learners. More recently, as Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction, Rachel led the content team, which focuses on implementing strong instructional practices and frameworks across schools. Rachel is currently the Chief Academic Officer at CNCA. She leads teams across the organization to ensure all instructionally related programs. academic, student and family supports, expanded learning, special education - are working coherently and with excellence on behalf of students and families. Rachel holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in elementary education from Loyola Marymount University.
teacher at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy's Burlington Campus. Since then, she has served in a variety of leadership roles at Camino Nuevo. Rachel was the founding literacy and bilingual education coordinator at Camino Nuevo's Cisneros Campus when the school first opened in 2011. She then became the network's director of language and literacy, responsible for offering guidance, support, and oversight to ensure that teachers across the network were providing high-quality instruction to all students, especially multilingual learners. More recently, as Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction, Rachel led the content team, which focuses on implementing strong instructional practices and frameworks across schools. Rachel is currently the Chief Academic Officer at CNCA. She leads teams across the organization to ensure all instructionally related programs. academic, student and family supports, expanded learning, special education - are working coherently and with excellence on behalf of students and families. Rachel holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in elementary education from Loyola Marymount University.
Ashley Jacobson, Board Member
As a proud Valley Charter parent for the past four years and a current VCMS parent, Ashley is invested in the
continued success of VCMS. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve on the board and help ensure that VCMS remains a supportive, innovative, and community-driven environment for all of our children. Ashley believes in the mission of Valley Charter and is committed to working collaboratively to help make Valley Charter Middle School be the very best it can be.
continued success of VCMS. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve on the board and help ensure that VCMS remains a supportive, innovative, and community-driven environment for all of our children. Ashley believes in the mission of Valley Charter and is committed to working collaboratively to help make Valley Charter Middle School be the very best it can be.
Angie Saldivar, Secretary
Ms. Saldivar is currently the Sr. Director of Customer Experience at Paramount. Angie leads the team responsible for providing customer service to online customers. The team maintains close relationships with internal product 
teams to ensure the voice of the customer is being heard. In her time at Paramount, she has overseen the customer service strategy and onboarding for all digital products. Angie is passionate about customer service, digital media, streaming, technology, and online safety. Throughout her career, Angie managed several teams at Myspace and consulted for startup companies. Her leadership has extended the .com and mobile space, including; customer service, moderation, law enforcement response, online safety, and security.
teams to ensure the voice of the customer is being heard. In her time at Paramount, she has overseen the customer service strategy and onboarding for all digital products. Angie is passionate about customer service, digital media, streaming, technology, and online safety. Throughout her career, Angie managed several teams at Myspace and consulted for startup companies. Her leadership has extended the .com and mobile space, including; customer service, moderation, law enforcement response, online safety, and security.Esmeralda Sandoval, Board Member
Esmeralda Sandoval is an experienced educator with over 25 years of service in diverse school settings. She began her 
educational career teaching kindergarten and eventually made her way to teaching middle school before transitioning out of the classroom to support the TK-12 compliance and educational operations for the last 12 years at Larchmont Charter. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in education from UCLA and her master's degree in curriculum development from CSU Dominguez Hills. The daughter of immigrants and a proud first-generation college graduate, Esmeralda was born and raised in Northeast Los Angeles and now lives in the San Fernando Valley with her husband, their children and two dogs.
Rohit Sharma, VCES Parent Representative (picture coming soon!)
Rohit is the parent of a five-year old and a long-time resident of North Hills. He is deeply invested in ensuring that all children in our community receive a high-quality education and that families can thrive in a safe, supportive environment. His work experience as an actor and a project manager gives him 15 years of experience working with cross functional teams, learning how to communicate essential messaging, and guiding collective choices. Rohit believes that supporting VCES in achieveing its mission and cultivating a vibrant community with our students is a privilege.
California law (Government Code section 53235.2) requires schools to make available records of ethics training completed by covered officials, including our governing board members and chief administrator.
To request these records, please email [email protected] with the subject line "Ethics Training Records Request." VCS will respond in accordance with the California Public Records Act.
To contact Valley Charter School's Board of Directors for any reason, please email [email protected]
