Program Team
The Program Team designs and delivers PEG’s affiliate and online programming services, and technology support.
Jeff Blaskower Information Technology Director
"Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know."
-Aldous Huxley
Education
San Jose State University, B.A. Psychology
What calls me to do this work?
What calls me to this work is hope. Hope that all people can realize positive change from within themselves to affect the inequities in our society.
Nancy Dome Director of Online Programming
"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."
-Maya Angelou
Education
U.S. International University, San Diego, B.A. Psychology
U.S. International University, Bushey, England, M.A. Education
National University, San Diego, Professional Clear Teaching Credential-Multiple Subject
National University, San Diego, Cross cultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD) Certificate
Cal State San Marcos, San Marcos, Administrative Credential
Alliant International University, San Diego, Ed.D. Education
What calls me to this work?
My passion for children and my desire to support those at risk of school failure keeps me engaged in this work and striving for excellence in my practice. More than 70% of children in alternative education programs are children of color; that said, I would be remiss to sit back and allow the status quo to continue. Thus, I am guided to continuously learn and look for opportunities to impact the learning environment. I am an educator...as I evolve personally and professionally, so do my abilities to support this work.
Taisha L. Rucker Affiliate Program Director
"A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled."
–James Baldwin
Education
University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, JD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, B.A. English Lit.
What calls me to this work?
On a very practical level, our survival depends on how we use our resources. We say that children are our greatest resource, yet we acquiesce to the idea that only some children can learn – only some children will thrive. Yet without the ideas, creative capacity and innovation of the future generation, we cannot enrich the world in which we live. If half of the students who fail to graduate each year are Black, Latino and Native American and we attribute this to their deficit rather than our own, then it is not really the students who have failed. It is us.
Shaundra Williams Program Manager and Staff Coach
“The educational system of a country is worthless unless it [revolutionizes the social order]. [Educators] of scholarship, and prophetic insight, must show us the right way and lead us into light which is shining brighter and brighter.”
–Carter G. Woodson
Education
Mississippi State University, M.S. Counselor Education, Student Development
University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A. Black Studies
What calls me to this work?
What calls me to this work is the drive to address the inequities in our educational system and provide new avenues for educators and the youth we serve. Our students see and feel the impact of our policies everyday in their schools and educational experience. If we use this awareness to act upon and address the issues, we can make an impact and create opportunities for engagement and growth. My passion for student success and achievement is the basis for the program development and coaching I seek to engage in during this work.
