Governing Board

Ms. Carol Stanford is a trustee for the Palmdale School District and served as an instructional coach and AP/IB English teacher at Antelope Valley High School for more than 30 years. She was awarded the 2001 Teacher of the Year by L.A. County, received the Highland High School Hall of Fame, the Antelope Valley High School Distinguished Service Award, nominated for the Athena Award, and is co-founder of the Ana Verde Hills Town Council in Palmdale California.

Ms. Claudette Roberts Beck is a board president for the Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District and a former board member of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board. As the water conservation manager at the Palmdale Water District for 21 years, she developed and executed conservation programs for the public and regional school districts. A strong believer in educating the public about water conservation, Beck serves on the Conservation Garden Committee that encourages the use of sustainable plants and other forms of water conservation. Beck earned her bachelor’s in business management from the University of Phoenix.

For over 20 years, Ms. Victoria Hancock oversaw the City of Palmdale’s City Clerk Department in which she was responsible for overseeing all city elections for mayor, city council and measures in addition to being the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and FPPC contact for all candidates. Hancock has served as a substitute teacher at Palmdale School District, and held board CEO for MACRO Homes, a group home for girls in L.A. County. Her passion over the past several years has been to serve on non-profit education boards whose mission is to serve the neediest of youth and to provide opportunities to this underserved population.

For 36 years, Mr. John Dortch served as a manager for the L.A. County Assessor’s Office and was responsible for the assessment operations throughout the county. Since retirement in 2012, Dortch has been actively serving his community through Habitat for Humanity, the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, Rotary and Elks. He serves as a L.A. County appointee to the City of Santa Clarita Redevelopment Oversight Board, and was a previous appointee to the Santa Clarita Open Space Oversight Committee. Dortch holds a bachelor’s in business administration from California State University, Northridge and is a U.S. Army veteran. Dortch strongly believes that education is a crucial stepping-stone to a successful and fulfilling life.

Ms. Barbara Willibrand has over a 40-year career in education. She began as a junior high teacher, and then went on to serve as a high school teacher, an athletic director, a site administrator, a district administrator, and an assistant superintendent. She also served her community as a two-time board president for the Antelope Valley Union High School District Board of Trustees, as well as the program director for Neighborhood Impact, an at-risk youth athletic program. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated an expertise in governance, leadership, and leveraging budgets to benefit programs. Willibrand holds a bachelor’s in science and psychology from the University of Mississippi and a master’s in education from the University of La Verne.