The District’s Facilities Steering Committee is an advisory group made up of community members with professional experience and expertise relevant to Piedmont Unified’s capital projects. The Committee assists in the planning, management, and oversight of these projects.
The District relied on the Committee to oversee both the Seismic Safety Bond Program and the Modernization Program.Ă‚Â Members of the Committee, who have a diversity of viewpoints, helped guide these programs to successful completion — both programs were completed on time and on budget, with high levels of community satisfaction in the completed projects.
During the Spring of 2016, the Committee studied Piedmont Unified’s Facilities Master Plan,  discussed how to accomplish the most pressing educational goals identified in the Plan, and considered how to get the most value for the investment. The Committee helped identify conceptual designs, scrutinized cost estimates, and its recommendations are reflected in what ultimately became the H1 bond measure.
The Committee (which changed in composition over time) consists of:
- Sally Aldridge
- Angel Fierro, a structured finance and capital markets specialist for the solar company Sungevity, has an extensive background in investment banking. Ă‚Â His family includes many educators, including his wife who is currently a Vice Principal at Berkeley High School.
- John Gibbs, an urban designer and licensed landscape architect, holds design degrees from UC Davis and UC Berkeley. He has been involved in various local environmental initiatives from Beach Elementary School’s grounds to neighborhood tree planting, and is a past President of the Baja Padres Dad’s Club. Over the past two years, John has served on the PUSD Steering Committee.
- Grier Graff
- Brad Hebert
- Robert Hendrickson, who has a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley, is a licensed professional engineer (civil), and an attorney with more than 35 years of experience specializing in construction law and alternative dispute resolution.
- John Lambert, who has experience in planning, design and implementation of technology infrastructure for education and research facilities, including educational technology systems in classrooms, AV systems, network systems and security systems.
- Jane Lin, an architect with Masters degrees in both Architecture and Planning, a background in community development, and a strong interest in STEAM education.
- Bernard Pech, a retired high-tech executive with a strong interest in STEAM education and broad experience in the design and delivery of product and service-based solutions to many industries. Ă‚Â He served on the Board of “Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley.”
- Rick Raushenbush, an attorney who served on the Board of Education and Facilities Steering Committee during the Seismic Safety Bond Program and Modernization Program. He has served as a liaison between the District and the City of Piedmont concerning preservation, maintenance and replacement of shared facilities.
- Clark Thiel, an attorney specializing in complex construction project advice and dispute resolution, with broad experience drafting and negotiating design and construction contracts and managing complex construction litigation. He is also a licensed contractor and architect.
- John Welch, technology executive and entrepreneur with experience in software design and development. He holds a S.B. in Mathematics with Computer Science from MIT and a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
District staff who serve on the committee include:
- Randall Booker, Superintendent
- Ruth Alahydoian, Chief Financial Officer
- Pete Palmer, Program Manager
- Trish Culbert, Construction Management Consultant
- Julie Moll, Program Consultant
- Cory Smegal, Board Member
- Andrea Swenson, Board Member