Advisory Council

NWCEO’s Advisory Council consists of charter school leaders, district sponsors, and charter developers.  Its key roles are to advise NWCEO Board of Directors and staff regarding key issues in Oregon that directly or indirectly impact the public charter school arena, provide input into the substance and implementation of NWCEO’s strategic plan and core services (Technical Assistance, Advocacy, Membership, and Communication).

Members

Stephanie Hinkle, Trillium Charter School
Stephanie is a co-founder of Trillium Charter School.  Trillium is sponsored by Portland Public Schools.  Open since 2002, it serves students in grades K-12.  She is a long time advocate for public schools and for public school choice. She has experience in leadership positions in other programs, and has a background in financial services. She reorganized and ran the children's program at a local women's shelter, and has worked with disadvantaged children and families in several other capacities. Stephanie is the parent of two school-age daughters, and has been interested in schools and education since childhood.  Stephanie has a BS in liberal arts, a minor in Communication, and an Urban Studies Certificate from Portland State University.

Reese Lord
Reese is one of the co-founders of LEP High (Leadership and Entrepreneurship High School), a public charter school in Portland.  Reese’s expertise includes project management, analytical, and problem solving experience in education and state government. He holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Willamette University, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Masters of Teaching from the University of Virginia, and an educational administrative credential (through Lewis and Clark College).  While pursuing his MBA, Reese worked on several consulting projects in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors including an internship with the Oregon Progress Board where he worked on statewide performance measures, as well as the design of a comprehensive fiscal system for an Oregon charter school.  Reese spent five years teaching Social Studies at the middle and high school levels prior to devoting himself to establishing LEP High.  While teaching at Colonial Heights Middle School in Virginia, Reese served as the school's software committee chair and led several workshops on integrating technology in the classroom. He has numerous experiences collaborating with colleagues in talented and gifted, special education, and interdisciplinary teaching. Reese also worked as the Communications and Training Manager for the State Building Codes Division where he manage a $1 million biennial training budget and assisted executive management to communicate and reach consensus among the division’s diverse stakeholders.

Gary Tempel, Scio School District
Gary Tempel is an Oregon State University graduate in his 24th year in education.  He is currently serving in his 4th year as superintendent of Scio School District. Scio school district is a small rural district in the Willamette Valley that sponsors two charter schools, Lourdes Public Charter School, one of the first in the state, and Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA) one of the largest virtual charter schools in the state.

Mike Warner, Armadillo Technical Institute
A 27 year veteran teacher, Mike Warner has been working in educational choice since 1983.  He serves as the Co-Director of Armadillo Technical Institute, which is sponsored by the Phoenix-Talent School District.  In its ninth year of operation, this school is one of the original twelve schools to receive charters under the state's public charter school legislation.  Mike served as a Past President of The Oregon Association for Alternatives in Education and a member of the Oregon Department of Education’s Charter Schools Task Force. 

This page will be updated periodically to reflect additional members and other information regarding the Advisory Council.