John Randolph - Board President
John Randolph is an attorney with the firm of Sherman & Howard, L.L.C. His practice includes the representation of banks and other financial institutions in all aspects of commercial financing, title insurance and escrow companies in connection with title insurance claims, negligence claims and foreclosure proceedings and commercial developers and homebuilders in the acquisition, development, sale, and financing of vacant and improved real property, for residential, commercial and industrial use. John is a member of Lambda Alpha International, a national land economics honorary society and has been consistently recognized as an Arizona Business Leader in the area of banking law and finance.
John has been actively involved in the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Maricopa County and has handled a number of pro-bono cases for that organization. He has also served the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America in various leadership and youth protection training programs advancing to one of the founders and the District Chairman of the central Phoenix Camelback District. John has been involved in the East Camelback Rotary, the Sandra Day O’Connor Council of 100 and Valley Partnership serving on various committees for those organizations. He also currently serves on several other non-profit boards.
John is a graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics. He received his law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University.
Janeen Gaskins - Board Secretary
Janeen Gaskins is the Grant Professional Consultant with more than 16 years of progressive grant experience. Janeen received her Grant Professional Certification from the Grant Professional Association in 2009 and has renewed her credential without any interruption. Janeen worked for municipal government for more than 18 years and recently left municipal government to join her family business as the Vice President of Shakatronics Audio Video with the goal of establishing a foundation for automated services to benefit veterans and persons with disabilities.
In her spare time, Janeen provides professional grant services to local organizations which include but are not limited to: grant research, writing, monitoring and planning. For the last five years, she has averaged an annual grant benefit of $3 million dollars.
Janeen was born in Brooklyn, New York and now reside in with her husband and three children in the Litchfield Park area. Janeen holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, African American Studies, and a master’s degree in Environmental Planning. Janeen is also a Certified Public Manager and National Board Member of the Grant Professional Association.
Melissa Montenegro
Melissa Montenegro is an ACA board member, administration team member and most importantly an ACA parent. She has worked at Arizona Charter Academy since 2010, her latest role as the Director of Enrollment, Marketing and Public Relations. She also has a background in Human Resources working with the Arizona Department of Administration.
Melissa is a graduate of Grand Canyon University with a Master Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Leadership. Melissa is a Leadership West Class 25 alum and sits on the board of the local Northwest Valley YMCA branch.
Othell Newbill
Othell Newbill is a certified Emergency Manager and currently serves as the as the Emergency Management Coordinator for City of Goodyear where he works with the Mayor, Council, City Manager, and Chiefs in coordinating their response to natural or manmade disasters. He also spent 9 years as the Emergency Services Planner for Maricopa County.
Mr. Newbill also served over 20 years in the United States Army Reserves as a Master Sergeant. While in the military, he was mobilized to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm I (1990-1991) and to Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (2005-2006).
Mr. Newbill is also a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers, Arizona Emergency Services Association, and the Maricopa County Local Emergency Planning Committee He is also a member of Leadership West.
Cassandra Carter
Cassandra Carter is a veteran teacher with over eighteen years of experience as a classroom instructor and is currently a Master Teacher for the Avondale School District. She is passionate about student achievement and teacher growth which is evident in her successful career path. Cassandra’s experience also includes gifted education, Leading a grant team for Math and Science partnerships and served as Program Facilitator for the Arizona State University PDS program.
Cassandra holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University and an Elementary Education Degree from Northern Illinois University. She is a National Board Certified teacher and also holds a certification from Arizona Department of Education.
Mike Godbehere
As President and Co-founder of GCON Inc., Mike has more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry. His interest in construction started at an early age working alongside his father who was a union plumber. He spent many years with him in the field and was drawn to the challenge of construction and the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of your labor each day. A third generation Arizona native, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from Arizona State University.
Prior to GCON, he served in various management positions for Intel Corporation including Project Manager where he was in charge of projects in excess of $500 million. His last position with Intel was as Americas Sourcing Manager, where he was responsible for all US and South America based construction contracts.With nearly a decade of invaluable experience and significant accomplishments at Intel, Mike was motivated to create his own legacy in construction and with long-time friend and industry colleague, Gabe Gavriliidis, the pair co-founded GCON, Inc and began providing construction services in the Valley in 2002.
Melissa Holdaway
Melissa Holdaway is the co-founder and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Arizona Charter Academy. She has over 25 years of management and leadership experience, co-founded three charter schools and been awarded numerous state and federal grants.
Melissa earned a Bachelor’s degree in management, an Executive MBA from Grand Canyon University, holds a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional certification through Society of Human Resources Management and is a certified executive coach.
Passionate about creating positive change in the community, Melissa serves on the Grand Canyon University College of Business Advisory Board and the Blue Blazer Leadership team through Fighter Country Partnership, which supports the men and women at Luke Air Force Base. She also served as the past chair of the City of Surprise Audit Committee and the Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In 2022, Melissa was inducted into the Grand Canyon University College of Business Hall of Fame. Other awards include Athena Award finalist from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, one of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business, Business Leader of the Year from the Arizona Charter School Association, and the City of Surprise Citizen of the Year. Other awards include Leadership West Alumnus of the year, Sun City Elks Citizen of the Year, and Grand Canyon University College of Business Inspirational Leadership Award.
Heather Henderson
Heather Henderson is an award-winning educational leader who specializes in turnaround schools. With over 25 years of experience in education, training, and leadership, she has led all aspects of school operations and been a part of many successful charter schools. Heather specializes in data driven academic turnarounds, enrollment practices, student and teacher retention, special education, budget optimization and compliance. Heather quickly diagnosis issues and creates a plan for school leaders to execute with a communication plan to ensure buy in and success.
Mrs. Henderson holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Special Education K-12 and master’s degree in School Leadership. She is a certified principal, earned the prestigious Rodel Exemplary Principal designation, and was the recipient of the Arizona Charter Association’s Transformational Leader of the Year.