Executive Director

Joanna Lennon
Founding Executive Director
Joanna.Lennon@cvcorps.org

Joanna has worked for nearly twenty-five years in education, environmental stewardship, and youth development.

The founder and executive director of the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC), now Civicorps Schools, Joanna is dedicated to pioneering programs that promote the civic engagement of children and young adults within the context of improving public education and strengthening the larger community. With a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors, Joanna designed an international educational conference, developed a natural resource interpretation center, and founded the Natural Resources Institute. She also established the oldest and largest regional conservation corps in California.

Joanna holds a bachelor of arts degree in social and political philosophy; a master of science degree in forestry and resource management, and a California secondary teaching credential from the University of California, Berkeley.

Executive Staff

Rebecca Grove
Director of Development
Rebecca.Grove@cvcorps.org

Rebecca spent several years as a teacher and researcher before coming to Civicorps Schools as the Foundation and Corporate Programs Manager in 2000. She has served as the Director of Development since 2004. Rebecca holds a master's degree in Educational Policy and a teaching credential. She also completed five years of research toward a doctorate in Policy, Organization, Measurement and Evaluation (POME) at the University of California, Berkeley.

Stephen Hu
Chief Financial Officer
Stephen.Hu@cvcorps.org

Steve spent several years working for hi-tech Silicon Valley firms that ranged from start-ups to multi-billion dollar companies. He also worked as a technical and strategic consultant for a number of nonprofit organizations. Steve, a CPA, who has a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Hawaii, joined Civicorps in 2007.

Kate Mahar, Ed.D.
Director, Institute for Citizenship Education and Teacher Preparation
Kate.Mahar@cvcorps.org
Dr. Kate Mahar has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern California. Kate served in the Civicorps Schools national service program and worked for the California Community College system. She is currently Director of the Institute for Citizenship Education and Teacher Preparation.

Michael Smith
Director of Outreach and Legislative Affairs
Michael.Smith@cvcorps.org

Mike joined EBCC, now Civicorps Schools, in 1994. He has held a variety of supervisory and management positions within the organization including serving as the Director of the AmeriCorps Program. Before joining EBCC, he coordinated the Upward Bound and University and Colleges Opportunities Programs at three Oakland Unified School District high schools. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from San Francisco State University and has completed coursework towards a master's degree.

Executive organizational chart (PDF 8K)

"How ought we to live? Who are we as Americans? These questions are very important and have been debated since our inception as a country. How do we ensure that this experiment called democracy will survive? At Civicorps Schools, we believe that students who learn not only academic knowledge, but also their potential for a purposeful role in democracy grow to make positive contributions to society. We need only to ask it of them."

– Founding Executive Director Joanna Lennon