Meet Our Board
Alan Levenson
President
Alan practiced labor law for 50 years in Portland, ME, first 25 before NLRB and the U.S. Courts of Appeal including one oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. The last 25, he represented clients who had been discriminated against by employers. Alan also served on the Portland School Committee for 7 years to include as chairman. With his wife Betsy, he operates a commercial real estate company in Portland and suburbs. Alan has tutored in the 1st and 2nd grades at Mt. Vista Elementary for 10 years. Betsy and he also established the Reach Scholarship which they have supported for years..
Ann Vernon
Fundraising
Ann spent the majority of her career as a counselor educator at the University at Northern Iowa where she trained school and mental health counselors. She also had a private practice and specialized in counseling children, adolescents and their parents. She has written many books about counseling young clients, as well as two social emotional education programs which have been implemented in schools across the country and abroad.
Ann is Past President of the Albert Ellis Institute where she also received training in rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy. Currently she conducts training in RE&CBT applications with children and adults in affiliated training centers in many Latin American countries and India.
Her life-long experience as an English teacher, school counselor, and counselor educator fueled her passion for high-quality education, so she is glad to be a member of the Oracle Schools Foundation Board and Chair of the Gala event which raises money to support educational programs at Mountain Vista School.
Chris Crum
Vice-President
Chris has been a member of the Foundation Board since 2016. She is a retired Juvenile Court attorney who has been an active child advocate for decades. She is also the Mt. Vista 3rd grade Garden Club sponsor. She and her husband Larry live in SaddleBrooke and spend the hot months in Wisconsin with their family.
Richard Borland
Treasurer
Richard has over 41 years of management experience in working in commercial/retail banks and credit unions. He also has expertise in all aspects of consumer and commercial and mortgage lending in addition to human resource and consumer issues for various financial institutions. Richard is a member of various chambers of commerce and community groups and a founder of a Co-Ed Soccer Program in New Jersey. He was a Rider College all-American soccer candidate as a player and team captain and is a member and officer of various local United Way programs.
Windy Messing
Secretary
In education for 20 years, Windy has taught junior high, second grade and intervention groups for K-6th grade in the Tri-Community. She currently teaches Kindergarten at Mt. Vista Elementary School. Windy sees first-hand the invaluable benefit of students receiving quality early education and is proud to be part of a group that works to offer this experience to all children in our District.
Vacant
Corresponding
Secretary
Crystle Nehrmeyer
Superintendent
Oracle School District
Crystle informally entered the education profession when she was five years old and went home each day after school to teach her dolls what she learned in school. She is a graduate of both the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. She was a middle school teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal before becoming a K-8 principal. As the Superintendent of the Oracle Elementary School District, she proudly serves on the Oracle Schools Foundation Board and takes great pride in the support they provide for the children of our community.
Sherry Kaplan
Member-at-Large
Sherry Kaplan taught history, civics and English at Lane Technical High School. An all boys high school in Chicago, IL. She retired to raise her two children.
She also worked as a paralegal specializing in Estate Planning and real estate law for 20 years for 2 law firms in the Chicago area. When her husband became Mayor of Riverwoods, IL she quit her job and became his partner selling real estate in their community.
Upon moving to SaddleBrooke Sherry worked at “Kids Closet” and volunteered as a reading tutor at Mountain Vista school in Oracle. She has been both tutoring and reading to the children of the 3rd and 4th grade classes at Mountain Vista and also brings her therapy dog “Zoey” to visit the pre-school and kindergarten classes for the past 6 years. She and Zoey also have been visiting the patients at Sierra Tucson where Zoey has been a favorite.
Sherry is a member of SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Enrichment Committee and of SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary.
Tiffani Webster
Member-at-Large
A former Mountain Vista student herself, Tiffani is now a proud Mountain Vista parent with her two daughters in the preschool program. She has been a board member since 2019 and is happy to be a part of a great foundation that helps the Oracle community and students.
As a volunteer in elementary classrooms, preschool to 2nd grade, she has seen firsthand the benefits of early childhood education and the difference it makes in the students. She is a huge advocate for community outreach, having worked previously with non-profits like Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and Arizona Theatre Company
John Tancock
Member-at-Large
John grew up in Michigan, graduated from Michigan Technological University in engineering, worked in the utility sector for thirty-one years, retiring as Director of Engineering and Construction for Colorado Springs Utilities. John and his wife Elizabeth moved from Castle Rock, Colorado to SaddleBrooke in 2004 and have volunteered in several non-profit organizations, including Sister Jose’s Women’s Center, Casa Maria Community Shelter, Teach for Freedom, and Southwest Medical Aid. John has worked part-time for the last ten years for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as a Mediator.
John joined the Foundation late in 2019 in an effort to become more familiar with the Oracle community, parents and students, improve his knowledge of the Oracle School District, the need and value of our tax and donated contributions, the importance of district wants and needs and ultimately how your generous support translates into a positive outcome for the kids.
Gary Greenbaum
Member-at-Large
Was the founder and President of Greenbaum and Orecchio, Inc., a New Jersey based wealth management firm. His firm provided investment advisory services, in a fiduciary capacity, to 225 clients in 21 states, and managed about $500,000,000 of investment securities. Gary launched a diversified hedge fund for his firm’s clients, and served as one of its Managing Members. Gary founded his Registered Investment Advisory firm (registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission) in 1982, sold his equity to his 3 partners in 2008 after 26 years in the business, and then retired at the age of 55.
Gary worked his way through graduate school as a Commercial Pilot. He is a Certified Flight Instructor, with multiengine and instrument ratings, and also holds an advanced Ground Instructor certificate. While in college, Gary competed as a member of the University of Michigan’s flight team in National Intercollegiate Flying Association events.