Dr. Jon Eyler

Out of persistent ambition and a relentless pursuit of marginalized youth, Dr. Jon Eyler founded Collaborative Learning Solutions (CLS) in 2010 with the primary goal of changing the life outcomes of youth with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. The vehicle was the implementation of a unique and innovative cognitive-based program based on his scholarship and research at the University of Southern California (USC). He currently serves as the CEO of CLS and is relentless about student success. He leads the organization to provide committed solutions that are both results-driven and fiscally practical for educational and social service agencies.

Chad Pomajzl

With over 25 years of business experience, Chad Pomajzl serves as Vice President of Operations and Business Development for CLS. Originally from rural Nebraska, Chad possesses a strategic and intentional mindset that equips him to lead cross-functional teams in a manner that unites and increases engagement. In addition, Chad is adept at establishing long-term client partnerships that are mutually beneficial and solutions focused.

Residing in Phoenix, Arizona, Chad is the father of three young adults and enjoys hiking, off-roading, and traveling the world every chance he gets.

Jeanne Bargman, MA, PPS

Integrity, relationships, and servant leadership are among Jeanne Bargman’s core values. During her four decades in education, she has served in several capacities, including School Counselor, School Psychologist, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, and Assistant Director of Riverside County SELPA. Currently, as a Director with CLS, her work has focused on programs and services ensuring equitable and inclusive services for students and assisting districts to address issues of Significant Disproportionality. Through it all, Jeanne strives to inspire school leaders to create a nurturing environment so that each student is challenged and supported to reach their full potential and thrive. 

Brenda Burgo

Brenda Burgo has been an instructional assistant, secondary teacher, academic coach, AVID coordinator, and secondary school site administrator at both middle and high school. Brenda is a first-generation college student. During her twenty-two years in education, she has focused her passion on removing barriers to access for marginalized students to connect them with their educational and postsecondary goals. She has received recognition for supporting students in programs and through her leadership efforts. She is an advocate for both Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Restorative Practices. She is also a Ph.D. student working on her dissertation at the University of San Diego in the Education for Social Justice program. She is a published author and her research interests focus on state standardized testing and Black student learning. She teaches part-time at the University of California, Riverside, in the School of Education. Most importantly, Brenda is a wife and mother of three children. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to spas, reading, doing yoga, and taking nature walks. 

Nico Butty

Nico Butty is a Project Manager and an experienced administrative professional who’s worked as an Administrative Assistant on the Washington Inclusionary Practices Project from 2020 to 2022. He worked in New York as an Executive Assistant (4 years) and Project Manager (2 years) before moving to Arizona in 2020. Nico studied Business Administration in Geneva, Switzerland and Project Management at NYU. In his spare time, Nico loves playing soccer, spending time with his family, and discovering Arizona. His desire to help those in need is what led him to work for CLS. He strongly believes that every child deserves an equal chance at being successful.

Denise Byars

Denise Byars comes to us from Texas where she served students as a 1st-3rd grade teacher for 8 years before moving into school counseling for the next 18 years. Denise has recently moved into the position of Business Development Coordinator, assisting Chad Pomajzl, VP of Operations & Business Development.  

Previously she served as Executive Administrative Assistant, working alongside Dr. Jon Eyler and Dr. Gail Angus at Collaborating Learning Solutions.

She loves to take long walks with Mack, her English Bulldog, and spend time at the beach in her free time as well as travel when she can.

Her favorite quote is, "When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” 

Jenna Cataleta, M.Ed.

Jenna carries experience as a special education teacher, school-wide behavioral interventionist, parent educator, and district coordinator. She is passionate about creating and sustaining positive and inclusive educational practices that support all community members through a humanistic and holistic lens. Jenna enjoys weaving in her knowledge as a certified mindfulness and meditation instructor to support both youth and adult learners with building social, emotional, and cognitive competencies. At the heart of her work, Jenna strives to ensure every individual feels safe and seen in their learning environment. She firmly believes, as Dr. Bruce Perry states that “there is no more effective neurobiological intervention than a safe relationship.”

Jenna is a wife and mother of two school-aged children. In her free time, you will find her up in the mountains doing yoga, going on family hikes, dancing, and snuggling up with a book at her home in Pine, AZ.  

Elizabeth Claes

Elizabeth Claes serves as Educational Consultant for CLS. After several years in the classroom, Elizabeth moved into nonprofit leadership that centered on transportation equity for students and healthy food access. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Trinity International University and a Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership from Mills College. Elizabeth enjoys collaborating with others in order to build more equitable systems. When not focusing on work, she is busy gardening, reading, and hanging out with friends. She lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, two teenage boys, and a very noisy cat.

Dr. Kathy Cox

Dr. Kathy Cox is an educational consultant who brings 27 years of experience in public school education as a general education teacher and a general and special education administrator, including serving as Senior Director of Special Education for a large charter school network.  Kathy believes in servant leadership and finds great joy in guiding, mentoring, and encouraging others.  Kathy is a mother of two, a grandmother of four, and an avid Crossfit athlete  - competing in multiple Crossfit and weightlifting events each year. She also enjoys bicycling with her husband, Mark, including occasional rides on their tandem bike. Kathy loves the challenge of finding unique and innovative ways to meet the needs of each student, especially students with disabilities. 

Kathy's mantra is:  "You don't have to react!" 

Ruth Cruz

Ruth Cruz joined in 2020 as an Administrative Assistant and worked on the SELPA System Improvement Leads (SIL) Project. She now works on other projects, including the Significant Disproportionality with various school districts, and provides overall support for the leadership team at Collaborative Learning Solutions (CLS). She loves her job and genuinely enjoys working with the CLS team. Her goal is to continue providing support and great customer service to clients and to continue learning about the offerings CLS provides schools and districts. Ruth has worked for over 20 years in both the private and public sectors of education. She loves working in the field and her passion has always been to be of great service to the children and parents of a school community while providing the needed support to the administrative team in order to have positive outcomes. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree in Psychology and Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Services/Management from the University of Phoenix. In her spare time, Ruth enjoys being with her family, going on road trips with her husband and 3 children, spending time at the beach, dancing, and spending quality time at home. 

“Take life on life’s terms - one day at a time. And have fun while you’re doing it.” - Joe Perry

Dr. Victoria Forrester

Dr. Victoria Forrester is an Educational Consultant with CLS.  She focuses on Educational Equity and Social Justice in all aspects of her work. Victoria has been a public educator for 33 years. 

She entered education as a paraprofessional at the age of 18 and then became a teacher after graduation from UC Santa Cruz (go Banana Slugs).  She taught grades K-8 over 22 years and then became a principal (her favorite job ever!).  After many years of principalship, Victoria became a Director of Student Services and Special Education.  She is now retired, but working full-time for CLS and loving every minute of it! Victoria holds a Master's Degree and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Mills College, where she continues to teach new school leaders. 

She is passionate about relationship-building skills and Social Emotional Learning.  Her greatest passion in education is work for the benefit of students on the margins, particularly students of color and our LGBTQ students and families. In her spare time, Victoria loves to be active: hiking, gardening, doing anything out of doors.  She has two beautiful children, who are now 19 and 23.  Victoria is incredibly proud of both of her kids.  Victoria works hard to live in the moment; one day at a time!  She is joyful when it comes to her work and loves to hear how her former students are doing; many of them are in their 30's now!   Victoria is at heart, an anti-racist educator devoted to using her privilege to help others.

Candy Haight-Wiedmeier

Candy Haight-Wiedmeier has the pleasure to work with Collaborative Learning Solutions (CLS) as the Consulting Coordinator, using her extensive experience to make a difference in people's lives, every day. She joined the team in 2015 and she is now based in Idaho! She has helped CLS scale to impact more and more educators and students. She is very passionate about her work and helps coordinate projects across our team members and clients. In her spare time, she loves to be outdoors with her husband and family. They enjoy camping and finding new places to discover.

Regina Hartman

Regina Hartman brings to CLS a banking background with years of experience running several small businesses. She joined the company in 2013 as the Business Manager. Regina feels very proud and blessed to be a part of the development and growth of the Business and Human Resource aspects of the company. Currently, Regina is the Controller for CLS. She is always looking forward to traveling to Hawaii with her husband enjoying long walks on the beaches, searching for whales breaching in the ocean. 

Dawn Henry

Dawn Henry joined Collaborative Learning Solutions (CLS) in 2020 and currently is the Marketing Coordinator. She has 10 years of educational experience between preschool and special education. She loves working with children and is fortunate to be working for a company that specializes in training districts to teach at their highest potential. She also is the Event Coordinator for vendor conferences, meetings, and special events. 

In Dawn's spare time she loves camping, going to the beach, and hanging out with her family.  During the week she spends many hours in the car taking her kids to practice or swim meets/games. 

Dawn's favorite inspirational quote is, "You've gotta train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you'll lose to yourself every time." 

Kenny McCarthy

Kenny McCarthy is an Educational Consultant with CLS. He has also served as a Program Director and Special Education Teacher, specializing in the area of intense social, emotional, and behaviorally challenged students. He is a trained administrator and special education teacher with a master’s degree and expertise in cognitive-based classroom strategies. He provides consultation, coaching, and professional learning services for educational programs that focus on the needs of students with significant social-emotional and behavioral challenges. He has developed data tools to measure program fidelity and students’ needs related to academic and social/emotional/behavioral interventions and supports. In his spare time, he enjoys being active with his family, playing various sports, and working out.

Kenny’s favorite quote is from Steven Furtick “Don’t follow your passions, follow your purpose with passion.”

He continues to be motivated by positively changing the outcomes of some of the most marginalized youth in our country. He also likes to turn difficult concepts or situations into practical terms or applications.

Atsie Sanchez, LMFT, PPS

Atsie Sanchez, LMFT, PPS, is a Marriage & Family Therapist, credentialed in school counseling and currently working as an Educational Consultant for CLS.  She has worked closely in and with schools since 2008, providing individual and group counseling to students, collaborating with school staff and administrators, and connecting with health fairs and other community partners for the betterment of students and school communities. In her spare time, Atsie enjoys kickboxing and outdoor activities such as hiking with her dog and mountain biking, and fishing with her husband.  She advocates for the inclusion of equity and social-emotional learning in schools.

Andrea Secoff

Andrea is an innovative education advocate who believes that meaningful, rigorous instruction and a warm, affirming environment are the foundation for a spectacular education. 

She comes from a family of educators and has experience in elementary and secondary education as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Her contributions to education have centered around an array of equitable structures to support students: Restorative Practices, Social-Emotional Learning, Trauma-Informed Practices, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and a plethora of school climate and culture initiatives that help elevate belonging at school sites. She is also skilled at identifying hidden equity gaps, utilizing data analysis, and leading others through plans of action to address those gaps. 

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her two girls and her husband. She also enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and heading to her favorite park, Disneyland. She truly enjoys living deeply into her values and strives to make sure that every school is equitable, inclusive, supportive, and inviting for all students.

Ricki Shankland

Ricki Shankland has served in public education for 26 years in a variety of roles: Mathematics Teacher, Mathematics Department Head, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Principal Mentor. She is passionate about equitable and inclusive practices and meeting the needs of all learners. As an educational consultant for CLS, Ricki will partner with school leaders to enhance school culture, the overall student experience, and student learning outcomes. She believes the exciting part of this work is that each school/ district has its own unique strengths and challenges to consider when strengthening/ building and implementing systems, structures, and practices to meet the needs of students and staff. Fostering positive relationships and trust, providing opportunities for staff and student voice, building the capacity of teacher leaders, implementing effective data systems and practices, and increasing consistent access to social emotional learning opportunities are all impactful in creating and sustaining a positive culture where students and staff feel supported, engaged, and empowered. In her spare time, Ricki can be found running, hiking, or spending time having fun with her husband, two college-age children, extended family, and friends.

Her favorite poem is "It takes courage to..." by Shelley L. Francis (From The Courage Way). Ricki enjoys supporting teams by finding the courage to face challenges!

Tanjela Sims

Tanjela is a professional development and project implementation specialist who boldly embraces a growth mindset, positivity, and a “can do” spirit. With extensive knowledge and experience working as a national consultant, trainer, coach, and educational leader, she holds steadfast in her belief that with hard work, diligence, and the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources, every teacher and every student is capable of reaching unimaginable limits.

Tanjela has an unwavering passion for teaching and learning, and has spent her entire career working in the field of education. She has been an elementary and middle school teacher, a collegiate instructor for pre-service teachers, and she has also worked in the nonprofit sector as an associate coordinator for a general education development (GED) program.

Employing a variety of action and needs-based leadership, planning, and training approaches, she endeavors to develop and facilitate professional learning experiences that are authentic, impactful, and immediately actionable. Tanjela truly loves being a “thought partner” to educators in all roles and positions, and actively strives to use her leadership and training skills to support school leaders and teachers in creating learning environments that foster students’ self-reflection, kindness, compassion, respect, and love for all people.

Matthew Soloway

Matthew Soloway is the Business Manager, Payroll, and HR Specialist at CLS. He attended Southern Oregon University where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Human Resources. After graduation, Matthew worked in Special Education Administration for a school district outside Portland, OR. In 2019, he moved back to California to work with CLS as their Business Manager and assist with programs. In his spare time, Matthew plays with his dog, watches random shows on Netflix, and hikes.