Judy Kogan is a Parent Board Member with two children attending OCS. She is passionate about helping people and excited to continue on the OCS Board this year as Board Chair! After graduating from UC San Diego with a degree in Political Science, Judy worked at a non-profit foundation in Santa Monica where she researched the impact of education technology, teacher quality, and charter schools on student learning. Her commitment to helping others continued after she graduated from Loyola Law School in 2005 and began her career working as a civil rights litigator. These days Judy advocates on behalf of developmentally disabled children through her company, California Advocacy Group. Judy was *almost* a 3rd generation Los Angelina, but she was born in Kalamazoo during her parents’ stint in graduate school. During her free time, you can usually find Judy spending time with her husband and kids. The Kogans love to hop on a cruise ship, travel overseas, visit national parks, explore sandy beaches, and try new restaurants. If you would like to contact Judy, her email address is judy.k@ourcommunityschool.org.
Yi Ding (Ding) is a Community Board Member. She is a librarian at CSUN, where she discovered her passion for K12 when offering workshops and tours to local students. Heading the campus textbook affordability initiative further inspired her to support vulnerable students in the wider community. After chairing the Education Committee at the Northridge West Neighborhood Council and co-founding the family-driven nonprofit CHEER, she wants to give back to children and youth more directly and deeply by bringing years of education and nonprofit experience to the OCS board. Things you might not know about Ding is that she has a four-year-old boy, loves producing podcast episodes in Mandarin, is a lazy cook, but enjoys food of all kinds. If you would like to contact Ding, her email address is ding@ourcommunityschool.org.
Greg Knotts is a Community Board Member. He is the Chair of the Elementary Education Department at CSUN. He taught elementary school for 10 years in Long Beach, Inglewood, and Lawndale prior to teaching at Loyola Marymount University which is where he earned his BS in Business Administration and an MA in Elementary Education. His Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California in International/Intercultural Education which is a pretty high-fallutin way of saying he is supposed to know things about differences in education across contexts. Most of his scholarly work and publications are in social studies education and around multicultural issues of gender and sexuality in elementary education. A thing you might not know about Greg is that he has a 12-pound Maltipoo, Stella, that is both the bane of his existence as well as a rare treasure (anyone want a dog?). If you would like to contact Greg, his email address is greg.k@ourcommunityschool.org.
Dom Reissmeier is a Community Board Member with a deep passion for education, youth development, and community collaboration. With over 20 years of leadership experience spanning technology consulting, financial services, and entertainment—backed by an MBA from the University of East London and a foundation in digital engineering—Dom is a problem-solver at heart who brings a wealth of strategic insight and operational experience to the OCS board. Professionally, Dom is part of the Ernst & Young Government and Public Sector practice, where he specializes in labor and workforce development solutions. Having started his career as an apprentice, he holds a deep personal appreciation for how crucial early childhood education, project-based learning, and diverse pathways are for lifelong success.
While not a Los Angeles native, Dom is a longtime resident who is deeply invested in giving back to the community because of all the opportunities LA has afforded him. He is thrilled to partner with school leadership, families, and fellow board members to support the mission of Our Community School and ensure its continued success.
Things you might not know about Dom is that he is a devoted family man with a wonderful wife and an adult daughter. Outside of work and board service, he is an avid hiker and scuba diver who loves exploring domestic and foreign destinations—and he can rarely resist turning any trip into an impromptu quest for the best local street food. If you would like to contact Dom, his email address is dom.r@ourcommunityschool.org.
Tamara Schiff is a community board member. Dr. Schiff brings charter school board experience to the OCS Board having served on the HighTech LA Board for a decade. During that time, she also served on the Board of the Milken Community High School. Tamara was formerly the Senior VP for Research and Administration at the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, where she helped develop and implement a comprehensive school reform focusing on teacher effectiveness that is still used in schools across the country. For the past 12 years, she has consulted on educational issues, ranging from teacher and leadership effectiveness to executive leadership placement, and curriculum development. Dr. Schiff earned her Ph.D. and MA in Higher Education from UCLA, where she also earned her BA in Psychology. Tamara has long been a supporter of charter schools and looks forward to working with the OCS Community. If you would like to contact Tamara, her email is tamara.s@ourcommunityschool.org.
