Jessica Berry

Dear PCK,

I am nearing the end of my 3 year term, and am currently serving as President of the PCK Board. I humbly ask for your vote of serving another term and giving back to the school that has given my children such an exceptional academic experience. My daughter Preslie is in 2nd grade, and I have two PCK "graduations" to attend this year -- one for my amazing 8th grader Reagan, who is president of the Student Council; and one in Kindergarten for my little guy Holden. This has been an incredible opportunity navigating ever-changing guidance during a pandemic, selecting a new school director, and evaluating needs for building expenditures and school programs these past few years.  

A little about myself - I have an extensive media and public relations background, and I’m truly blessed to do what I love. I served 13 years combined in the Air Force and Navy, serving as a Public Affairs Officer in this capacity before my current role as a spokesperson for a hospital in Denver. On occasion, I have worked with the local media to tell some wonderful stories of just how special our PCK students are. 

I have served on a couple of boards that were an extension of my passion for the women and men who defend our country. I served on the board of Rocky Mountain Fisher House for about 4 years, and I continue to serve as one of the original board members of Veteran Tickets Foundation. 

This school wouldn’t be what it is without the support of our amazing parent community. I’m so grateful to represent PCK and collaborate with all of the impressive parents who serve on the Board. 

Hayley Contois

My name is Hayley Contois and I am a newer PCK parent with Adriana in 7th grade and Camden in 2nd grade. This is our first year with this wonderful school and I consider us blessed to be part of the community it offers.  

I have been part of my kids' schools since they started attending kindergarten. We lived in Vermont at the time and I became very involved in school board sessions, though they were different in the public school framework. I strongly believe that parents are a large part of educational success for students and I appreciate the opportunity to help drive the education of the kids and direction of the school at large.  

I considered running for the DCSD board this past year, but unfortunately we hadn't been registered voters in DougCo for long enough, so I was unable to register as a candidate. I believe in listening to the problems and successes from all sides and helping establish a clear path forward. Of course we can only do the best we can with the information at hand, but recognizing if a misstep has been made and course correcting is a big part of that, as well.

As mentioned, I am a mom of 2 children at PCK. They're almost 9 and almost 13. The perspective I can provide is unique as they both have ADHD and I've been working their entire school careers to help them be successful in a world that isn't really designed for them. I believe wholeheartedly in PCK's philosophy and have significant pride in the fact that my kids are students there.  That said, I believe there is an area for improvement when it comes to kids that aren't neurotypical, but that could still be incredibly successful at PCK.

I have my BS in Health Care Administration, as well as my MBA with a focus in Advanced Leadership. I have been working in healthcare for just under 20 years, focusing now in healthcare IT for the last 7. My current title is Project Manager for a non-profit organization that provides an excellent electronic health record to federally qualified health centers/community health centers. I work remotely full time and appreciate the flexibility that offers me.  

Walter Esser

I am the father of Emily and Wyatt Esser, and I am married to Cody Rae Esser. This was our first year with PCK. I am currently a Sales Director for a multi-billion-dollar ag chemical distribution company. In my current role I am responsible for ~ $750MM of sales, the budgeting process, and people management. I have 16 years of experience with the company that I am employed with that gives me the experience needed to sit as a board member with  PCK. This experience includes being skilled in operations, sales, marketing, and business analysis; I am  focused on processes and making data driven decisions. 

I have several years of experience (2018-present) being a board member with SCPA (Southern Crop Production Association). The SCPA was established in 1954 by pesticide formulators who foresaw the need for a regional trade association which would provide them with needed information and speak for the group at state and federal levels with one strong voice. Membership includes over 95 percent of the firms which manufacture, formulate, and distribute crop protection products in sixteen southern states. The SCPA is recognized throughout the industry and by state and federal agencies and legislative elements as the principal spokesperson for the crop protection industry and related trades in the South.  

I have several years of experience sitting as a board member with Valley Ag Fertilizer J.V (2014-2019). This board of directors was responsible for making business decisions between competitive companies that were sharing assets and inventory for crop production inputs.  

Erik Glenn

Dear PCK Community,

I would be honored to serve the PCK Community as a member of the Board of Directors. My family joined the PCK Community in the fall of 2020 when my son Theodore started kindergarten. Theodore is now in first grade and absolutely loves PCK and has great pride in being a Cougar. In my opinion, it is this ability to instill pride and excitement around education that when coupled with PCK’s mission to “...provid[e] its students an academic advantage by building a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and character, while challenging each individual to become a critical thinker, responsible citizen and future leader” makes PCK special, unique, and successful at preparing children for academic excellence. It is because of the growth that I have seen in Theodore over the past two years, his pride in the school, and PCK’s mission that I am most interested in serving on the PCK Board. Here is a little background on me and my experiences that I believe are relevant to the PCK Board of Directors.

Currently, I am the Executive Director of a conservation-focused non-profit organization – the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust. In this role, I lead a staff of twelve, work closely with a 20-person board of directors to establish and implement strategic direction for the organization, and oversee a $1.2M annual operating budget and more than $12M in financial assets. I understand non-profit financials and accounting. I also have a background in public policy. I have testified on multiple occasions before the Colorado General Assembly and have successfully helped advocate for public policy positions before the US Congress. I currently serve on the board of directors of Keep it Colorado a conservation-focused trade association, as the president of the board of directors of the Partnership of Rangeland Trusts which is a public policy-focused organization that represents conservation organizations across the west and mid-west, and as a trustee for the Western Stock Show Association which manages the National Western Stock Show.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University and two graduate degrees from the University of Denver – a Master of Natural Resources Law Studies and a Master of Business Administration. I believe my education, experience, and skills in non-profit management, organizational governance, and public policy will be beneficial to PCK.

If selected, I will work closely with fellow board members and staff to ensure that PCK continues to offer the best academic experience possible.

Tracy Maisonet

Dear PCK,

I have had the privilege of being part of the PCK family for five years now. My son Zach is in 2nd grade, and I also have a daughter, Ella, in kindergarten. Zach and Ella both attended the PCK preschool. My family and I have lived in Parker for over seven years, and I have lived in Colorado my entire life. I’m a rare native.

I’ve been in the financial industry for over 20 years with experience in operations, management, and compliance. Currently, I work for Empower Retirement within the Risk and Compliance Department. Prior to Empower, I worked for Charles Schwab. For over a decade I have been in the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) divisions. My team is responsible for maintaining regulatory requirements for BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) which include reporting suspicious activity, monitoring transaction activity and more importantly, working with regulators for annual exams. Part of my duties have been developing policies and procedures. Additionally, I have over 15 years of management experience. I absolutely love what I do, and the people I work with.

I can’t express the love and gratitude I have for this school, the staff and community. Since being a part of PCK, I have volunteered for many things, such as the Fall Festival, parent chaperone, Class Coordinator, library help, and am currently on the Foundation at PCK.

There are many reasons why I love PCK, but at the top is their transparency to parents and their passion to help each student succeed. I am asking for your vote so that I can work with the leaders of the school, fellow parents on the board, and continue to help provide the exceptional PCK experience we are all very lucky to have for our children. 

Tian Zhang 

I have been impressed with PCK very much since my son enrolled in K in 2020. I would like to get involved more and to serve more on the Board of Directors. As 36.6% of all students represent minorities, particularly 23.3% represent Asian heritage, I feel my involvement can add unique values and perspectives to the Board. Below you will find my work experience and what my personal passions have to offer for my interest in this position.

I came to the US for Graduate School in 2006 and started working in 2008 as a Mechanical Engineer. After we got kids, I stayed home for the past 6+ years. My current work is a life insurance agent and a trainer for agents. I provide coaching and training to nurture a high-performance team. I enjoy this line of work to know people and to help provide education and protection to families.

I pursued a certificate in Environmental Policy Management as one of my passions is about stewardship of the beautiful nature. Although I did not take positions using this expertise, I have been trying to expose kids to natural exploration as I believe people can't love something that they don't know well. I just started organizing a monthly outdoor activity that combines nature exploring, Chinese learning, and movements for kids 0-6 years old. 

During 2020, I also founded a Chinese parenting group on social media whose members are now over 300. This is a 501(c)(3) organization. I organized the weekly lectures from experts, sharing among peers, and books discussions for over a year. Hosting the weekly Zoom meetings, providing the summaries of the meetings, and planning for all the communications needed for a smooth operation of a community for parents with growing mindsets. Every month the topic changes ranging from understanding kids' drawing to how to discover and enforce the virtues in kids. The outdoor activity mentioned above also got inspiration from what we learned about free play in nature. We celebrated the one year anniversary of the community with raffle prizes provided by me and other experts who had given lectures and it was a great feeling to be part of a community that values learning and growing on the part of parents, not just the kids. 

From the end of 2020, I also began to volunteer for a Non-Profit organization that promotes Chinese learning in the form of Chinese Storytime. I have hosted over 60+ weekly Zoom storytimes now and only till last month I changed it to bi-weekly due to time conflicts. 

As all these demonstrate that I am a person holding very high standards for myself and take my commitment very seriously, with due diligence and with great creativity. I am passionate about motivating kids to discover their own paths and achieve their goals, and I deeply believe in our goal in life is to serve, from which we lift others and ourselves.