The German American School is an Oregon 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation governed by a Board of Directors.  The Board is responsible for establishing the school’s mission and for providing the oversight necessary to achieve that mission.  The Board oversees the financial management of the school, engages in long-range planning and sets school policy.  The daily management and operation of the school are the responsibility of the Head of School.  The Board is comprised of both parent members who are elected by the parent body, and community members who are appointed by the Board.  Board members serve a term of not more than three years and may be re-elected or reappointed.  All Board meetings are open to the school community.  

Annual Report 2008-09

Board Meeting Minutes

GSP Board Member Expectations

Mark Vickers, Vice President: I am a 1994 graduate of Oregon State University where I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology with minors in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics. Throughout college I worked for the Arc of Benton County, a local non-profit agency that provided housing and social services to adults with developmental disabilities. In my role as Personnel Director, I worked very closely with the Board of Directors and the Executive Director. Since 1994, I have been in a number of Information Technology (IT) roles of increasing responsibility at NIKE, Inc. My current role is the US Regional Account Manager for the NIKE Supply Chain project, NIKE’s largest ever business and IT undertaking. My primary responsibility is ensuring that the interests of the US business are met across Finance, Sales, Demand and Supply Planning, Delivery, Inventory Management, and Order Management. Together with my spouse Valerie, we are pround parents of Grace, who started preschool in October.

Sam Cannady, Treasurer: is the father of three children, two of whom are currently attending the GSP. He has served as Board President from 2000-2005 and is now Treasurer. Sam holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Oregon State University, an MBA from Tulane University, and a JD from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College. He is currently employed by ScottishPower as Managing Director in the Group Risk Management department. Sam is strongly committed to the ongoing growth of the German American School, including the development of a new middle school program.

Robert Manicke, Secretary: is a tax attorney at Stoel Rives LLP. His practice emphasizes state and local tax matters, employment tax and tax-exempt organizations. He has been a member of the board of the German American School since 1999 and serves as corporate secretary. He and his wife, Pastor Michelle Manicke, are fluent in German and have three children, all of whom have graduated from GSP.

Tammy Franks, Director: is the mother of two children, both of whom currently attend GSP.  Tammy has a BA from Wittenberg University where she studied German and Political Science and a MA from the University of North Texas in International Politics.  She is currently employed as the Child Passenger Safety Coordinator by both Legacy Health System and Tuality Healthcare.  Tammy has an extensive background in education administration and looks forward to working with the board.  In her free time, Tammy enjoys hiking with her family, dog sledding, and running.

Peter Hoeckel, Director: Ever since our son Miles joined pre-school at the German American School of Portland in 2004, my wife and I have been very impressed with the quality of the education as well as the warm atmosphere at the school.  His recent progress and excitement about Kindergarten, as well as our daughter Ella's immediate acceptance of her new pre-school class environment this year was another confirmation of our choice.  We also strongly believe in the value of a multilingual education for our children, not only for the benefit of developing a closer relationship with their paternal grandparents in Germany, but for the overall developmental benefits.  With both of our children now at GSP, I look forward to becoming involved beyond volunteering, although I view the volunteer efforts as an essential part of creating a strong school community.  With the current growth of the school, I feel that we have a unique opportunity to create a sustainable class structure for children to thrive and parents to rely on.  My background includes a Master's Degree in Physics from the University of the Saarland in Saarbrücken, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.  Since 1999, I have worked in different process development and project management roles at Intel Corporation, many of them with a focus on quality and reliability.

Karen Keene, Director:

Mark Little, Director: Mark W. Little is Vice President and General Manager of the Global Risk Solutions unit of Harland Financial Solutions. He is responsible for risk management technology used by financial institutions worldwide, particularly in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Mark manages teams in Portland, Denver, Atlanta, Ireland and Tel Aviv. Prior to joining Harland Financial Solutions in 2000, Mark served as an attorney in private practice specializing in federal banking law, electronic financial services and commercial lending. He has been a guest speaker and faculty member at several financial institution organizations and associations. He is a professional member of the Risk Management Association. Mark received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from the University of Washington with All College Honors.

    

Matthias Merkel, Director: I joined the Board in 2006 and now serve on the finance committee. My family and I moved to Portland in 2004 from Munich, Germany, and our daughter Becca is currently in Kindergarten. With our bilingual background (my wife, Jennifer, is from Minnesota), we already decided in Germany to give the gift of bilingualism to our children. We soon learned that promoting the non-dominant language is a challenge for both parents and children. Coming to Portland, we were pleased to find a school like GSP - a perfect match for families looking for bilingual education and more. The current growth of our school is an exciting time to be part of the Board and be actively involved in planning and decision-making in the best interest of our children and the larger GSP community. In my professional life I am an anesthesiologist and critical care phycisian. I have an MD-PHD degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, and since 2004 I have been at OHSU as Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine.

                                                                         
Jon Nordby, Community Director: Jon has been involved with the school since its initial move into the current building. He has provided architectural design and space planning since then. Jon Nordby brings more than 20 years experience to residential architectural projects where his award-winning designs reflect both innovation and careful attention to his clients' desires and lifestyle needs. With prior experience as a builder, developer and a cabinet maker, Jon brings exceptional insight, creativity and service to each project. As more clients request modern architecture and creative design solutions, Jon’s extensive commercial design work inspires his residential work. His work in the Pacific Northwest ranges from multimillion dollar custom homes to creative remodels and additions.

David Papp, Community Director: Graduated from Central Catholic HS, BS from Portland State University, 10 years as Budget analyst - VA Medical Center, 18 years as Finance and Administrative Officer Department of Surgery, VA Medical Center, GSP school board member past 1.5 years

Carsten Schemel, Director:

 Sig Thoma, Director: 

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