Donna Wittrock, M.A, SNS

Donna worked in Denver Public Schools and served as executive director of Food and Nutrition Services. She was responsible for a staff of 550 who served 45,000 meals per day. Under her direction a deficit of $1 million turned into a positive bottom line in 1.5 years. Donna is a past president of the Colorado and national School Nutrition Association (SNA) and has received both the Silver Plate Award by the International Foodservice Manufacturer’s Association (IFMA) as well as the FAME Silver Leadership Award. She has served as an instructor for the National Foodservice Management Institute (NFSMI) specializing in financial management. Her work with Prismatic includes reviews with an emphasis on food service and performance management.

Donna holds a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota. She is also certified as a School Nutrition Specialist with SNA.

Fun Facts About Donna:

• won Grand Champion at Minnesota State Fair for her strawberry jam;
• is an avid gardener and saved tomato seeds for next year’s crop and harvests approximately 50 pounds per year;
• loves gourmet cooking and has 300 cookbooks.

Paul Tate, M.Ed.

Paul developed his awareness for understaffed and overworked educational service environments early in his career. He is an expert in education administration, teacher staffing and performance, and is also a licensed mediator in alternative dispute resolution. He worked in central administration with curriculum design and auditing, in professional development, site-based decision making, the DuPont leadership development process, and total quality control. With Prismatic, he analyses organizational structure, optimization of teacher scheduling and performance, and teacher-student ratios.

He holds a Master in Education degree from Auburn University and a Bachelor in Arts degree from Troy University.

Gary Gerber, Ed.D.

Gary has unquestionably improved leadership performance in Oklahoma school districts. His direct involvement with community organizations brought positive energy that led to establishing leadership councils and opening a new school. His work with Prismatic involves providing districts with recommendations that can assist them with meeting long- and short-range planning objectives through improved internal and external communications.

Gary holds a Ph.D. degree, a Master of Education degree, and a Bachelor of Science degree all from Oklahoma State University.

Marilyn Moody, M.S., SNS

As evidenced by the USDA Best Practice Award, the Healthier US School Challenge Bronze and Silver Awards, and the Thelma Flanagan Gold Award, Marilyn has led with merit in all aspects of nutrition programs from food production and service to storage, sanitation, and safety. She has served as a vocational teacher, clinical nutritionist, and contributing author to the School Nutrition Association state and national magazines. Her work with Prismatic has been school district performance reviews with a focus on food service and administration.

Marilyn holds a Master of Science degree and Bachelor of Science degree both from East Carolina University. She is also a certified School Nutrition Specialist.

Vincent Ashley, M.A.

Vincent is a proven leader who served worldwide in the U.S. Army. AS an officer, he specialized in personnel transportation services, managing maintenance of large fleets, and creating transportation schedules for more than 5,000 personnel. After his military retirement he applied his leadership skills in school districts, specifically in the school transportation departments of a number of Virginia school districts. He served as director of transportation in Richmond Public Schools, which serves more than 20,000 students. With Prismatic, he has reviewed school district transportation operations in several states, including Virginia and Texas.

Vincent holds a Master of Arts degree from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Norfolk State University.

Courtney Knapp, MBA, Ph.D.

Courtney is a natural collaborator in her field working with school districts, education service centers and state agencies to further student achievement. She designs curriculum, develops tools for district curriculum alignment, and manages a one-to-one technology environment within her school district. Her expertise helps districts plan and implement best practices under technological and federal initiatives that include No Child Left Behind; Common Core Standards and the Oklahoma Academic Standards; Race to the Top; and the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). Courtney has broad service on local, state, and national grant and peer review teams.

Courtney holds a Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Oklahoma and a MBA degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Adam Steele

Adam is the Director of Finance and Business for Hickory City Public Schools and is currently a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) candidate. He previously worked in private accounting as an auditing associate and a staff auditor. He has completed audits for local government agencies, school boards, car dealerships, non-profits, real estate development companies, and employee benefit plans. Adam is a certified North Carolina School Business Administrator and Certified North Carolina School Business Director. He maintains membership in the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accounts, American Institute of Certified Public Accounts, and the Southeastern Association of School Business Officials (SASBO) and was recently voted as the NC Director of SASBO. He has recently been awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association and a similar recognition from the Association of School Business Officials.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Fun Facts About Adam:

• enjoys spending time with family, playing sports, riding 4-wheelers, skiing, snowboarding, sitting on the porch, and family vacations;
• a lover of sports – college football (UNC Charlotte & North Carolina), NFL (Panthers), college basketball and baseball (UNC Charlotte & North Carolina), MLB (Atlanta Braves), and NASCAR;
• loves to be outdoors, working in the yard, hunting, and hiking.

Jerry McConnell

Prior to working in education, Jerry spent 16 years with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for both state and private sectors, serving his final post as prison warden. Today, he is the Facility Operations Director and Emergency Manager for the Moore Norman Technology Center in Oklahoma. He oversees two campuses and is responsible for day-to-day maintenance and custodial services, environmental health and safety, campus security, transportation, and emergency operations. In 2017, he managed a $60M district remodel. He serves his community as a Lieutenant with the McClain County Sheriff’s Office and is a member of the Tactical Entry Team. Jerry is a member of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) and in July of 2016, he received the national Safe Schools Leadership Award.

Jerry holds a Master of Education degree in Education Administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Fun Facts About Jerry:

• an embellisher and determined fisherman;
• dedicated OU sports fan;
• a pushover for his grandkids.

Tom Martineau, M. Arch., R.A., LEED AP

Tom is a licensed, registered architect, and a LEED Accredited Professional. He began his career in 1966 as a Research Associate with the New York State University Construction Fund, and retired from Florida A&M University as Professor Emeritus in 2012. With Prismatic, he advises school districts nationwide on such topics as facilities planning and management, maintenance, and operations. He is the sworn enemy of deferred maintenance, and a strong advocate of informed, efficient and effective spending on school facilities.

He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Corey Duber

Corey’s law enforcement career spanned 23 years, where he served at the local, state, and Federal levels. He received numerous awards, including Rookie Police Officer of the Year in Dallas and DEA Agent of the Year. Upon retirement, Corey served for six years as the Chief of Security for Wake County Public School System (NC), one of the largest districts in the nation, where he was responsible for the safety of 120,000 students, 23,000 employees, and 126 schools.

Corey has published safety/security articles for school-based publications and the US DOE. He was also instrumental in the development of school crisis planning for the US DOE and a member of the Columbine High School shooting reconstruction team. He is a frequent guest lecturer for safety organizations, including the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Augustine Pescatore

Augustine’s experience in law enforcement spans more than 40 years and includes work in the municipal, private, and public education sectors. He began his career with 10 years as a police officer in the City of Philadelphia and is now in his second decade as Commander of South ROC, for the Office of School Safety. The School District of Philadelphia is the 8th largest district in the nation and he previously served as Commander of the district’s Support Services Division within the Police Department. There, he is responsible for Investigations, Fire Safety, CCTV/Alarm Systems, Communications and Incident Report Units, supervising a total of 28 personnel. As the South ROC Commander he oversees 130 schools and 175 School Police personnel.

Augustine is currently Chairman of the National Association School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers (NASSLEO). He has earned numerous certifications in areas of specialized training and served as a trainer for the US Department of State and the School District of Philadelphia.

Jonathan Hutchinson

Jonathan is the President and CEO of Hutchinson Architecture, PLLC. His primary focus is on driving the firm’s strategy, communicating its mission and vision to clients, managing and allocating capital and managing growth. His secondary focus involves initiating the project design process, assembling design or design-build teams and overall project management. Serving as project architect and project manager, Jonathan is responsible for all phases of project development which includes: master planning, advance planning, programming, architectural design, construction documentation, construction administration, and post occupancy analysis. His specific duties as project manager include managing the design teams, establishing and managing project schedules and budgets, and writing service proposals/contracts.

As an architectural consultant, Jonathan has teamed with Prismatic Services. The majority of his firm’s consulting services involved developing feasibility studies for renovations or additions to existing K-12 facilities.

Fun Facts About Jonathan:

• Jonathan is a married father of identical twin boys;
• he enjoys playing piano, creating songs, and writing poetry; and
• he also enjoys exercising outdoors with his sons.

Loretta Schmidt, Ed.D.

Loretta has consistently demonstrated her commitment to efficiently ran schools and curriculums. She is a former Area Coordinator for Oklahoma State Department of Education and former Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Her positive influence on urban and rural school districts has helped to improve instructional delivery and student success on multiple levels. With Prismatic, her prime focus is the effectiveness of districts to deliver quality instruction.

Loretta holds a Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Education degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California.

Doug Carter, M.S. Ed.

Doug Carter had a twenty-four year career managing school transportation programs in the Hudson River Valley/ metropolitan New York City region. He worked in school districts large and small, urban and rural, and with contractor-provided and district-owned fleets. In many instances Doug was able to save districts 10-20% on their in-district busing costs during times of budgetary constraints by condensing routes. He provided further savings through use of shared and cooperative, out-of-district busing contracts with neighboring school districts and parents.

Doug Carter’s credentials also include being a School Transportation Professional, certified by the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, and a School Transportation Specialist, certified by the New York Association of School Business Officials.

Gary Greenhill, M.S.

Gary’s track record shows a proven commitment to public schools in Oklahoma. He manages transportation operations for 19 schools and provides expert advice on management operations. His other leadership roles include Past President of the Oklahoma Association for Pupil Transportation and Tulsa Metro Area and Northwest Area Director for the Oklahoma Associations for Pupil Transportation. Gary is also an instructor for the State School Bus Driver Certification Program and issued a policy manual that improved efficiency of transportation service and operations.

Gary holds a Master of Science degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree both from Southern Nazarene University.

Renee Fullagar

Renee is able to bring a unique perspective to Prismatic’s transportation consulting, having started as a bus driver and working her way into routing. A former Marine, Renee has been in the school transportation field for more than 20 years. While working as a bus driver, she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Old Dominion University with minors in GIS and Environmental Engineering. In 2008, Renee moved into computerized bus routing, applying GIS fundamentals. She is now the supervisor of the routing department in her district of 30,000+ students and handles all routing issues.

Her consultant role on Prismatic projects covers bus routing, procedures related to routing, and transportation data management.

Fun Facts About Renee:

• loves camping;
• enjoys kayaking;
• enjoys spending time with family.

Michael Eaton

Michael has been recognized as a national school safety expert and is currently the Chief of the Department of Safety at Denver Public Schools. Serving over 93,000 students and 15,000 employee across 210 schools, he leads a team of 145 safety professionals and drives a value-added service model to ensure safe school communities. Michael’s expertise is in policy and procedure development, process improvement, developing collaborative relationships with local law enforcement, and organizational change management. His skill set is derived from over 25 years experience in the public and private sector leading safety and security organizations in healthcare, corporate, higher education and K-12. With Prismatic, Michael conducts audits supporting organizational improvements, policy and procedure review, physical security assessments, and emergency management consultation. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from Johnson & Wales University. He was also a graduate of the police academy and previously held a Peace Officer Standards and Training Certification for the State of Colorado.

Fun Facts about Michael:

• Proud husband to an amazing wife, and father to four boys and one girl ranging from 7 to 25 years old.
• Enjoys sports and was a previous high school baseball, football and wrestling official. Officiated the Colorado High School 5A State Championship Game in 2014.
• Part-time faculty member at Regis University teaching leadership, negotiation, and decision making.
• Currently the President of the Colorado Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers

Gaye Lynn MacDonald

Gaye Lynn was an innovative leader in the school nutrition program for the Bellingham Public Schools in Washington State for 32 years, including 20 years as the program director. The program served 10,000 students at 24 sites offering breakfast, lunch, summer meals, and after-school snacks.

Gaye Lynn served in a variety of professional leadership roles at both the state and national levels, culminating in serving as President of the American School Food Service Association (now SNA) and the Child Nutrition Foundation. Since 2005, Gaye Lynn has been President of MacDonald Consulting, assisting school districts in determining effective school nutrition program solutions and has served as a consultant/trainer and facilitator for the Institute of Child Nutrition, various state agencies and industry.

Her consultant role on Prismatic projects has utilized her background in school nutrition program financial management, procurement, cultural diversity training, food safety, and staff training and development.

Gaye Lynn maintains a School Nutrition Specialist credential.

Fun Facts About Gaye Lynn:

• enjoys cooking and recipe development;
• paddleboarder;
• loves travel.

Mary Kate Harrison, Ph.D.

As the retired General Manager of Hillsborough County’s Student Nutrition Department in Tampa, Florida, Mary Kate led one of the largest school meal programs in the country with a $145M dollar budget, more than 2,000 employees, and 230,000 daily meals. She expanded meal access through the adoption of a universal free breakfast program, the elimination of reduced-priced meals, and implementation of alternative serving models. Using KPI, she designed a comprehensive and effective financial management system that monitored site-based and district fiscal performance.

Mary Kate holds a master’s in food science and nutrition from Florida State University and a Ph.D. in hospitality management from Iowa State University. She has acted as a Spokesperson for the School Nutrition Association and has served on its board as the Public Policy Chair and Secretary-Treasurer.

Mary Kate has discussed child nutrition topics on local and national news and contributed to the textbooks, Child Nutrition Program Management and Community Nutrition. Mary Kate received the Silver Plate Award for Excellence in Food Service Management from the National Association of Food Manufacturers, as well as the Director of the Year Award and the FAME Golden Star Award for School Food Service Director of the Year from the School Nutrition Association.

Pat Stokes

Pat has 35+ years experience in early childhood education, adult education, and literacy education. With 20 years of classroom experience, she worked with a wide range of reading abilities and employed research-based practices in her literacy instruction. Pat managed a Pre-K collaborative grant for the county, consulted for Florida Department of Education (where she developed standards for the early childhood section of the Florida Beginning Teacher Test), and provided literacy in-services for all Title I elementary teachers in Citrus County. Pat received the Teacher of the Year award from her school during her classroom teaching career.

Upon leaving the classroom, Pat implemented several successful literacy programs and initiatives. She served as Program Coordinator for the Citrus County Even Start Family Literacy Program for 15 years. She acquired national certification for the program, maintained extensive records, supervised staff, and participated in 20+ collaborative partnerships within the community annually. Pat presented literacy training for the state of Florida as well as at the National Even Start convention.

Pat holds a Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Fun Facts About Pat:

• Rode the world’s largest zipline in Icy Strait Point, Alaska
• Stayed in a treehouse, built around a massive cedar tree (100 ft up), with a magnificent view of Mt. Ranier
• Lives in the manatee ‘Capital of the World’

Tim Wysong

Tim has 40+ years’ experience in the transportation industry. Tim, as a manager and consultant, has a proven track record of achievement in all aspects of transportation, to include operations, fleet acquisitions, allocation, maintenance, alternative fuels, routing, GPS systems and training. His ability to identify, quantify and recommend or implement opportunities for efficiencies and operational improvements is well documented. As the Director of Transportation at Vail Resorts (CO) Tim managed operations, acquisitions, allocation, and maintenance of a 4,000+ unit diversified vehicle fleet, was founder and president of S.A.V.M.I. Institute – professional organization of ski area fleet managers, and developed the first specialized vehicle leasing program in the ski resort industry. Tim later served as the director of transportation, warehousing, and residual assets in Eanes ISD (TX), a district of 8,100 students.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri.

Fun Facts About Tim:

• – enjoys offshore sailing
• – loves fishing
• – finds joy in trying interesting cooking recipes

Roy Sprague, AIA, NCARB, ALEP, LE Fellow

Roy is a registered Architect and Interior Designer and has reviewed facilities planning on school performance reviews at Broken Arrow Public Schools (WHL Enterprises), Edmond Public Schools and Lawton Public Schools for the Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability and Houston Independent School District for the Legislative Budget Board in Texas. He is responsible for providing the leadership, vision and support for the design direction, quality standards, administrative processes to develop 21st century school designs and support facilities for new construction and existing facilities renovations. He has led the construction of 60 percent of all CyFair ISD district infrastructure since 1997, including 27 new elementary schools, 9 new middle schools, 6 new high schools, major additions/renovations and numerous new instructional and support facilities. He has renovated every district facility in his 23-year career at CyFair. He created, designed, and constructed an educational support center complex that opened in 2006. He also implemented a district-wide 10-year master roof management program for roof repairs, and replacement. He has successfully managed and completed five successful Bond Programs totaling over $3.7 billion with savings in every program allowing additional facilities to be constructed and renovated. He is currently overseeing his sixth Bond Program that passed in May 2019 for $1.762 billion in new construction and renovation projects. He has developed school design and construction standards along with the district’s Project Management Manual and guidelines to ensure bond programs are managed very successfully in a very cost-effective manner to provide the best value to the taxpayers he serves.

Roy has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree from Louisiana State University.
He is an Accredited Learning Environment Professional (ALEP) from the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) and was also selected in 2019 to be a LE Fellow of the Association. He served as the International Chair back in 2007 and also received the Planner of the Year award in 2006 from the Southern Region of A4LE and was a finalist for the International Planner of the Year in 2007. He currently serves as a member of the National Board of Directors for the Collaborative of High-Performance Schools (CHPS) and the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP).

Fun Facts About Roy:

• He has been married for 37 years and has two sons and recently has been blessed with his first grandson, Evan Apollo.
• He is an avid bowler. He has bowled a 299 and is still striving to bowl that perfect 300 game.
• He truly enjoys playing golf and traveling on golf trips to play different golf courses across the country. His favorite trips have been to watch the Masters tournament in Augusta GA.

Siera Gashi

Siera began working at Prismatic in February of 2021 and is our resident high school wonderkid, reminding us all regularly of the power of teenagers to contribute to the work of improving education in a meaningful way. Siera creates, analyzes, and collects data for reports on different projects. This includes making organizational charts, compiling bus attendance data, creating/revising graphics, and proofreading reports. Siera is currently in high school (where among other feats she completed AP Computer Science as a freshman and plays violin) and is planning to go to a four-year college to study topics related in STEM.

Fun Facts About Siera:

• loves to travel and learn about different cultures
• enjoys reading
• loves hiking on trails

Peri Salman

Peri joined the Prismatic team as a research assistant in 2019. She has done and continues to work on a number of different projects for Prismatic. She has written and helped write reports for many of Prismatic’s grant evaluation clients, including Hillsborough County School District, Fort Worth Independent School District, Boys and Girls Club of Winder-Barrow County, Gaston County Schools, School District of Osceola County, and Cleveland Metropolitan School District. These grants have included STOP Grant Mental Health and Threat Assessment, CDC grants, and McKinney Vento Grants, and SAM/HSA Wraparound Grant. She has also reviewed after school program grant applications for Maryland State Department of Education. Peri has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science from Elon University and Appalachian State University, respectively. She enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures.

Fun Facts About Peri:

• enjoys swimming
• loves photography
• tries vegan restaurants

Stacy Williams, Ed.D.

Stacy is a 26 year veteran of public education. After teaching several years, she served in school administration and district director roles for almost 20 years. As a director, she led both the GEAR UP ($7 mil) and Teacher School Leader ($21 mil) grants, Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child efforts to connect schools with community partnerships, and was the district AVID director. While leading as the director of an afterschool program that served 17 elementary schools, she helped the program become profitable after a $450,000 budget deficit. Stacy was the principal of two at-risk elementary schools on separate campuses while they were under major construction and merging. Stacy later served as the principal of a Tier 3 K-12 alternative school with embedded mental health services. In 2014, Stacy was the Principal of the Year for Iredell-Statesville Schools. Stacy is a member of the International Society of Female Professionals.

Stacy holds a Master of Elementary Education degree and a Master of School Administration degree from Gardner-Webb University, and an Educational Specialist degree and Doctor of Educational Leadership degree from Wingate University.

Fun Facts About Stacy:

• Proudest moments always involve her sons
• Enjoys home renovations and yard work.
• Appalachian State football fan (#55 is her son)

Vondre Walston

Vondre is a native of Washington, DC, where he joined the Colin Powell Leadership club in the 7th grade. That led to a full scholarship to Archbishop Carroll Senior High School. He graduated from there with honors, spent four years in the DC Mayors Youth Leadership Institute, then earned a degree in mass communications from the University of the District of Columbia. His hobbies include music, sports, going to the gym, healthy eating, and social gatherings with friends.

Fun Facts:

• has had three songs played on local radio station — Vondre is a verified recording artist who creates and releases his own music under the name Von Dre
• is a part of a political group which helps run campaigns in the DC area
• mentors youth ages 11 to 14 every week in the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program

Tatia Prieto

Tatia founded Prismatic in 2007 after a PreK-12 consulting career with two other firms that were both larger and more bureaucratic than Prismatic will ever be. Tatia holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em Horns!) and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte (Go Niners!).

Fun Facts About Tatia:

• Is working through a long-term plan to visit every single It’s a Small World ride (two down, three to go)
• Keeps chickens in the backyard, in a coop built by her youngest son
• Is a diehard fan of the Philly Eagles, but also roots for ABC (Anybody But the Cowboys)

Andres Prieto

Behind every successful woman is often a supportive guy. Andres has been married to Tatia for more than 20 years. His patience and determination have allowed Tatia to grow Prismatic to where it is now. Andres holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em Horns!) where he also earned half of a “Mr. and Mrs.” Degree.

Fun Facts About Andres:

• Likes dogs and cats, but routinely vetoes allowing more than four on the payroll
• Secretly likes the chickens in the backyard
• Enjoys long walks on the beach

 websites.Scott Gilbert

I have been with Prismatic for nearly 8 years. I am what you might call a Jack-ofAll-Trades. Enjoy woodworking, welding and building construction. But, where I really shine is website/graphic design and website maintenance. I do a lot of the design and maintenance for Prismatic and Red Salsa.

Fun Facts About Scott:

• Likes working with his hands to build stuff
• Likes dogs, but doesn’t see the logic in anthropomorphizing them & taking them everywhere
• Enjoys binge watching series vs waiting a week for each new episode

Gremi

Gremi was adopted as a rescue in 2018. As an office security consultant, she’s pretty lousy at her job, so it’s a good thing she’s cute.

Fun Facts About Gremi:

• Has an excellent singing voice and can howl with the best
• Would rather ride than walk
• Enjoys long naps on the couch, preferably under the blankets