BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Isabel Aranda currently has one daughter at New Roads Middle School. A graduate from USC in Public Policy and Management and a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge, Isabel is Assistant Director at the University of Southern California, Latino Alumni Association. Born and raised in Mar Vista she has committed her life to social justice issues in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles by becoming involved in various community organizations.

 

New Road’s commitment to “diversity, opportunity, open-minded exploration, caring and responsible engagement with the world and beyond” is why I embrace serving on the Board of Trustees. My daughter’s experience is a testament of how New Roads has truly changed her life and those around her. She’s become an independent thinker, is in a rigorous academic learning atmosphere, and at the same time she’s become immersed in issues of social justice, appreciation of diverse cultures, intellectual ideas and globalization. These are the opportunities that every child deserves regardless of their socioeconomic, ethnic, race, culture, ideology, sexual orientation or other diverse background. It is for such reason that I am devoted to increasing community access to the excellent education New Roads offers, and to serve an educational learning village that is so important and needed in today’s society.

Jason Parry has two children at New Roads, and joined the Board in 2020.  For 20 years, he served on commissions and task forces on urban planning and housing in the City of Santa Monica. 

I’m inspired by New Roads’ teachers, and how they respect young people for who they are.  I am moved by the school leaders who know that it’s not enough to help only New Roads’ students grow; we must also share our stories broadly and advocate for the wellbeing of all students.  And, I am drawn into service by New Roads’ young people, forces of empathy that the world desperately needs.  These people, and the bridges we seek to build together, are why I serve.

Andy Rose and his wife Diane have two children who began New Roads in kindergarten (class of 2020 / 2026). Andy Rose is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist and has written and produced music in a variety of genres and mediums over the years. He has served on the New Roads Board of Trustees for 8 years.

Why I Serve
I believe New Roads has a role to play in the betterment of the world. I feel blessed to have two very different children who have each experienced a uniquely personal education, rooted in authentic acceptance and a deep passion for learning. New Roads taught me that education can be a partnership between teacher and student, based on understanding and mutual respect. I believe that is rare and magical. Our society and world need a young generation that can communicate and collaborate with diverse minds on solving the persistent problems of our time in humanistic ways. After 14 years as a New Roads parent, and 8 years serving on the Board of Trustees, I have taken the core New Roads commitments to heart. I continue to dedicate myself to this profound school by trying to help secure its future while maintaining the essence, soul, and core beliefs that have made it extraordinary since the beginning.

Dr. Melissa Rowe and her husband, David Loughran, have a daughter, Fiona Loughran, who attends New Roads and is class of 2024.  Melissa is a Vice President at the RAND Corporation, a non-profit public policy research organization headquartered in Santa Monica, dedicated to improving policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.  In this role, she oversees a multidisciplinary staff of ~1,600 researchers and scientists for RAND US.  She joined the New Roads Board of Trustees in 2017.  Melissa also serves on several other non-profit boards including the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights, the Development Partnership Institute, and the Advisory Braintrust for XPrize Foundation Health Alliance.

 

From the moment I spoke with Luthern Williams, Head of School, and became acquainted with some of the school’s incredible teachers and administrators, I wanted to become a part of their community; a community that is striving to deliver a top-quality and inclusive education to an eclectic student body, and bring the approach to the rest of the United States and the world. As a psychologist with a background in education research, this mission and approach is well-aligned with my professional goals, and most importantly my personal goal to provide my daughter with an excellent academic education and a community with shared values.  I serve on the board to assist New Roads in achieving our mission to liberate human potential and deliver a model of education that values inclusion and meaningful access for all students.

When my daughter graduated from New Roads in 2017 after starting there in kindergarten, I knew she was ready to leave the nest and start her next journey. The education, the opportunities and the authentic life gifts she received from New Roads were invaluable. For me, it was more difficult to leave the family and community that had been such a vital, compassionate, relevant and inspired part of our lives. I am honored to return and give back to my New Roads family as a board member.

As a Santa Monica native and proud alumni of New Roads High School, it is an honor to be able to pay it forward to a school and family that largely impacted my professional and personal trajectory. It is not every day that schools successfully foster safe, empowering and rigorous learning environments for their youth. More specifically youth of color, queer youth and youth from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. This is not a coincidence, but a revolutionary decision that takes tact, perspective, integrity and critical thought. This is the type of school that New Roads is. Because I was able to be a part of such a community, I had the foresight to imagine a similar community for the most at-promise youth in Los Angeles; Da Vinci RISE High School. These dreams do not brew themselves, they take a village of courageous leaders and revolutionary thinkers to lead the way. This is exactly what New Roads is, and that is why I am proud  to serve.