Governing Board Members

 

 

 

Mr. Steven Garbade is an experienced executive in the field of Information Technology with an extensive background supporting educational institutions, SMBs and large corporations. Steven holds a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. He is currently the VP of IT for Manifest, a full service marketing agency, where he was recently chosen as "Top Manifester of the Quarter - Q2 2019". Steven volunteers on the Governing Board with a firm dedication to helping underserved neighborhoods in need of quality educational programs. Working with AMS allows Steven to give back to the local communities by providing a superior educational alternative for students.

 

Ms. Holly Marcus has an extensive background in sales and account management, product/service education, and client/customer service and support. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a major in Marketing, from Drake University and is currently a licensed residential real estate agent with Homesmart. Her nearly 20 years of corporate experience was accumulated at various companies such as Monster (a leading global online careers company), Insight Enterprises (a technology solutions organization), and within the manufactured home industry. Holly has served in several volunteer roles including the Leadership Council for the Arizona Society of Human Resource Management (AZ SHRM) and the Fundraising Committee for an organization dedicated to breast cancer awareness. She is passionate about serving on the Board because of AMS’ mission to serve students in at-risk communities. She most connects with the pursuit of excellence in educating well-rounded global citizens with a STEAM focused education, and ensuring young citizens have relevant skills sets to be workforce ready. 

 

Mr. Robert Avalos is a commercial banker at Arizona Bank and Trust focused on middle market, non-profit, and real estate lending. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from New Mexico State University and has considerable volunteer experience working with non-profits in various capacities, including as a Board member. For Robert, being on the governing board of AMSA has personal significance. In his words: “The mission of AMS holds a special place in my heart. I identify strongly with many of the students in AMS schools as we have similar backgrounds and culture. Historically, many of these children often get overlooked and ultimately fall through the cracks. AMS provides these children not only opportunities, but substantially better opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have. It is my honor to play a small role in this dynamic movement that will ultimately transform our communities.”

 

Mr. Greenberg has spent his entire career in education serving in various leadership capacities in both Higher Education and Early Education. He is very passionate about education, particularly providing equal opportunities for education to all students. Prior to joining AMS, Erik served as VP of Operations for Early Education schools. He led operations for over 20 schools in various states in the Western United States. In that role, he learned how vital education is in the early years of a child’s life. Prior to that, Erik spent over a decade in Higher Education. Throughout his time, he led larger enrollment teams and eventually lead entire campus teams serving as Campus President in both Washington D.C. and Dallas, Texas. Erik has a bachelor’s degree in International Business and a Master’s in Business Administration. Erik joined the AMS network in February of 2019..  

Anthony Lehn, Member 

Mr. Anthony Lehn is an experienced firefighter, community program director, and facilities professional. He serves his community in Glendale and Peoria Arizona as Senior Program Director for the Glendale/Peoria Family YMCA where he oversees efforts to bolster the community’s recreation programs and extracurricular participation. Anthony graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Fire Administration from Arizona State University and is a certified Emergency Medical Technician. He also has over 30 years’ experience working with youth. He has coached wrestling, football, track and field, swimming, basketball, softball and soccer, and has served as an instructor for a variety of certification courses including CPR/AED, babysitting, lifeguarding, and first aid. Anthony believes caring, honesty, respect and responsibility are core values that make a key difference in a child’s life, especially as they move through adolescence into adulthood. He sees those values reflected throughout the AMS school environment, and he firmly believes continuing to hold students to a higher expectation will provide the best opportunities for those students to advance to a quality secondary and post-secondary education.

 

Victoria Mnatsakanova, Member and AMS Foreign Language Teacher 

Ms. Victoria Mnatsakanova has a Master of Arts in Slavic Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Bachelor of Second Language Acquisition with a focus on English, German and Russian from the Pedagogical Institute of Saratov in Saratov, Russia. She is a committed educator and has taught students at elementary, middle school, high school and university levels. Victoria is currently in her 7th year with AMS and works as a Foreign Language teacher. She has witnessed and experienced all the challenge and rewards of being a teacher and she is grateful that she is allowed the opportunity to change young lives. In her own words: “AMS serves areas that are in the most need of highly educated, passionate professionals. Becoming a board member offered a great opportunity for me to provide even more input and give more to my students, my school, and my community.”