Board Members

Sue became a Realtor in 2008 and is currently with Beverly & Company which encompasses the Conejo Valley, Moorpark, Simi Valley and Camarillo areas. Before children and becoming a Realtor, she owned and operated a wholesale/retail company in Thousand Oaks with clients throughout the state of California. Sue resides in Thousand Oaks with her husband and two sons, Christopher and Matthew, both Thousand Oaks High School graduates.

Denise Reader has served as a volunteer for the Conejo Valley Unified School District since 2002. Having served as PTA president and School Site Council Chair at multiple school sites, she has also served as Conejo Council PTA President, 12th District PTA Vice President and District Advisory Council Vice Chair. Her community service also led her to serve as President of National Charity League, Inc., Vista Robles Chapter and Ticktocker Specialist for the National Charity League, Inc., District 3. Denise’s three children all received excellent educations and graduated from Lang Ranch Elementary, Los Cerritos Middle School, and Westlake High School. Currently, Denise is enjoying an empty nest, traveling and serving as the Executive Producer of the All District Music Festival.

Jon Power, MA is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been practicing within Ventura County for the past 12 years. He has worked for a number of agencies in the county and currently has a private practice in Westlake Village. He is completing his PhD in Clinical Psychology where his studies have focused on the development of what he calls “Geek Therapy”, or the clinical application of aspects from popular culture (like film, comic books, television, superheroes, and video games) in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and family relationships. A longtime Conejo resident, Jon is an active member of the Sycamore Canyon School Site Council and PTSA. Jon has two children in the CVUSD.

wIrene Pugh joined Platinum-Energy, a full service, customer focused wholesale fuel distributor as an independent consultant working on various projects in their accounting department. Her contributions to the company led to a position created for her where she manages certain aspects of accounting, risk management and customer relations, as well as provide support for the company’s C-Store and carwash operations. Prior to joining Platinum-Energy, Irene put her career on hold as she and her husband, Scott, raised their family. During this time, Irene became active in the PTA serving on the Executive Boards of Lang Ranch Elementary School PTA, Westlake High School PTSA, Conejo Council of PTAs, and 12th District PTA. Irene holds the distinction of being a Past President of Conejo Council of PTAs and recipient of the California State PTA Golden Oak Service Award. She has also served on the Booster Boards for WHS Girls Volleyball and WHS Boys Basketball. Irene received her BS in Business Administration from USC Marshall School of Business. She began her career as an auditor at Touche Ross & Co., which through a merger became Deloitte & Touche. Soon after the birth of her daughter, she left public accounting to become Controller of DataMetrics Corporation. When the company announced its relocation to the east coast, it was an easy decision for Irene and her husband to remain in Thousand Oaks to raise their family. She returned to Deloitte & Touche as an Associate with the newly formed consulting division, Resources Connection where she serviced clients in the publishing, mortgage banking, automotive, biotechnology, and restaurant industries. Irene and her husband are longtime residents of the Conejo and have two children who are graduates of CVUSD.

Vaishali joined the Conejo Schools Foundation board in 2016 as the Event Coordinator. Her background is in the event planning industry with experience with The Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, The National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and The Marriott in Santa Ynez where she served as their Event Coordinator and Conference Service Manager respectively. Vaishali put her career on hold as she stayed home to raise their two children, both CVUSD graduates. During this time she became active in the PTA circuit serving in many capacities including the PTA President at Lang Ranch Elementary School, Executive Vice President at Los Cerritos Middle School and President at Westlake High School. Alongside PTA, she has held various positions throughout her kids schools including Student Council Parent Representative, Parent GATE Representative and School Site Council. She has also been active the local Boy Scout Organization as well as serving as a Girl Scout Leader for 12 years. In addition, for the past 16 years she has been volunteering for India Friends Association which helps various groups in the underdeveloped portions of India. Currently she serves as the Office Manager at Lang Ranch Elementary School. Vaishali received her Masters in Business Administration from Cal Poly Pomona and has been a resident of the Conejo Valley for over 18 years.

Mike Soules is the President of Corwin Press, an educational publishing company dedicated to “Helping Educators Do Their Work Better”. Mike recently held the position of General Manager for Teachscape, a for-profit, private educational Professional Services company. Having also served in senior executive positions at Laureate Online Education and the Channel One Network, Mike has focused his career on marrying innovative technology with practical applications for educators nationwide. He received B.A.’s in History and Political Science from UCLA, is a life member of the UCLA Alumni Association, served on the CVUSD District Advisory Council, member of the Lang Ranch School Site Council, served on the USC Rossier School of Education Board of Councilors, is active at St. Maximillian Kolbe and the Conjeo Valley YMCA Indian Guides and the Ventura County Workforce Investment Board. Mike and his wife, Michelle, have three sons: two graduates of, and one currently in, the CVUSD.

Liz Armstrong, a native of the Conejo Valley, has always considered herself an advocate for children, families and her community. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Mount St.Mary’s College, she spent several years working at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA specializing in pediatric oncology. She then went on to receive a Masters of ScienceDegree in Nursing from UCLA with a specialty in pediatrics. Liz has worked in the Conejo
Valley as a pediatric nurse practitioner for the past 15 years. She has served on the board of the
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners – LA Chapter and continues to volunteer at
the Westminster Free Clinic serving as a mentor to teen health care interns while providing care
to children in the community. Liz and her husband have resided in the Conejo Valley for the past 20 years. Their two daughters attend schools in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Liz has been an active
member of the PTSA, PFA and booster boards and enjoys volunteering in and out of the classroom.

Mark Davis has over 25 years’ experience in the K-12 education space and is currently President/CEO of his consulting firm “The Rev Group”. Most recently Mark served as Vice-President for K12 Partnerships at Knowledge Delivery Systems. As VP, K-12 Partnerships at KDS, Mark partnered with districts to develop solutions that tackle their greatest PD challenges. Together they built systems of support for teachers that transformed classroom practice. Prior, Mark was the Executive Director of the Non-Profit organization “Power My Learning” – there he was responsible for establishing new fee-for-service partnerships as well as increasing the organization’s visibility to key funders. Mark served for more than a decade in leadership roles at Kaplan K-12 Learning Services including General Manager. Mark is married to his wife Nicole and they have 2 young boys that are both attending CVUSD schools. He holds a BA in Political Science and a Dual Concentration (Minor) in Education and Business Administration from UCLA.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Dianne Badoud McKay joined her father, the late Gary Badoud, in the satellite television industry. They founded Strategic Television in 1986 as a small, high-end consulting company. After successfully turning the company into an internationally recognized team of experts in broadcasting events around the globe, Dianne sold the company in 2004. Dianne has been very involved in local PTA leadership, with school site councils, on the Bond District Advisory Committee, past chair of the District Advisory Council, and on the advisory board of the College of Business at CSU Chico, her alma mater. She is the 2005 recipient of the Gold Award, Outstanding Citizen from the California Teachers Association and the Ed Masry Integrity in Community Service Award, and is serving a four-year term on the Thousand Oaks Traffic and Transportation Commission. Dianne herself is a graduate of the CVUSD. Her four children carry on this tradition: one is a graduate of UC Davis, one is a graduate of UCLA, and two graduates Cal Poly SLO.

Paula Nathan is Past President of Conejo Council of PTA’s. She has advocated for education for over 13 years serving as PTA President at the Elementary, Middle School, High School and Council levels. She currently serves as Vice President of Membership for the 12th District PTA which oversees all PTA units in Ventura County. Paula has always had a passion for children, education, and volunteerism. She headed the toying buying department for six years for Better Balance for Long Beach for their One Day Christmas Store. The charity provided gifts for families in need that were nominated by city organizations, free of charge, for every member of their family. Paula has a specific focus on Special Education as her daughter is special needs, and regularly advocates for the rights of the special needs community. Paula and her husband Ron hand chose Thousand Oaks to live in because of the exceptional schools that CVUSD offers.

Lana Clark joined the Conejo Schools Foundation as Executive Director in July 2022.

She brings over 12 years of experience in fundraising for education; specializing in donor relations, endowment formation, and scholarship development.

Lana is a product of the Garden Grove Unified School District and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Communication at California Lutheran University, where she also received her Master of Public Policy and Administration.

Her career has been focused on creating new opportunities for students by building bridges and acting as a conduit to support from generous donors.

She has a particular passion for the performing arts and sang in choir throughout high school and college.

She and her husband, Matthew, have been residents of the Conejo Valley since 2009 and are the proud parents of a CVUSD elementary student.