Governance and Policy Specialist
Charter Schools Development Center
Caitlin O’Halloran Hellar is the Governance and Policy Specialist at CSDC. Caitlin leads CSDC's development and delivery of matters
relating to governance, policy, and other charter school leadership topics. In 2004, Caitlin co-founded the Dixon Montessori Charter School (DMCS). From 2013-2022 she served on the Dixon Unified School District Governing Board which
authorizes DMCS. She served one term on the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools and has been a workshop presenter at statewide educational conferences, a commentator on public radio, and the Woman of the Year for Senate District 03 in 2016.
Board meetings should be more than passive listening sessions and endless agenda reviews. Effective …Board meetings should be more than passive listening sessions and endless agenda reviews. Effective charter school governance requires board members to engage differently depending on the conversation, challenge, or decision at hand. In this interactive session, participants will explore the “modes of engagement” that help boards move from simply attending meetings to actively governing with purpose.
Drawing on the January–February 2025 Harvard Business Review article, "How the Best Boards Engage with Management," this interactive session explores a simple but powerful framework that can transform the way charter school boards approach governance. Instead of treating every agenda item the same, participants will learn how high-performing boards intentionally shift among four distinct modes of engagement—Passive, Mentor, Partner, and Control—to provide the right level of oversight at the right time.
Whether a new board member, a seasoned board chair, or a lead administrator supporting governance work, this session will provide practical tools to help every voice at the table contribute more meaningfully. Participants will leave with ideas they can immediately implement to design board meetings that are more engaging, focused, and impactful.
Leadership transitions are inevitable — but they're rarely planned for, and even more rarely discu…Leadership transitions are inevitable — but they're rarely planned for, and even more rarely discussed openly. This session is designed for those contemplating a career shift, building a succession plan, or sitting on a board wondering how to prepare for leadership change. The presenters, Irene Salter and Caitlin O'Halloran Hellar, bring their own non-linear careers to the table and have assembled a panel of California charter leaders who have been through it myriad scenarios: ones who shifted into charter leadership from other fields, ones who built something and then passed it on, and ones figuring out what comes after.
Leaning into William Bridges' Transition Model and Jenny Blake's Pivot framework as anchors, this session offers real stories, practical tools, and honest conversation about one of the least-discussed challenges in the charter sector: what happens when it's time for what's next.
Every leader has been there – a tense boardroom, an angry parent, a staff drama swirl. In school g…Every leader has been there – a tense boardroom, an angry parent, a staff drama swirl. In school governance, even the best leaders can find themselves caught in patterns of emotional reactivity, misalignment, and eroding trust. Designed for board members, administrators, and governance teams, this session moves beyond theory to provide actionable approaches for navigating conflict, reducing reactivity, and building trust that lasts.
Participants will begin looking inwards to examine how reactivity shows up in their own patterns and judgements of others and will learn how the brain gets triggered and how mirror neurons and emotional contagion influence social dynamics. The presenters will use guided reflection and cognitive reframing to defuse the stories that underlie participants' own reactivity.
From that foundation, the session participants will learn and practice actionable communication skills and strategies that are known to reduce reactivity and build trust within groups. Participants are encouraged to bring a topic that’s reactive and challenging at their school to workshop or use one of the case studies provided. Participants will walk out the door with an action plan for their current issue as well as practical tools they can use in board meetings, staff interactions, community engagement, and their own daily life.
For a limited time, early access to this workshop is exclusively available to registrants who have opted into the Board Member Registration Package. This workshop will open to all conference registrants on September 14, 2026.
A school’s mission and vision should be more than just words the mission and vision should serve a…A school’s mission and vision should be more than just words the mission and vision should serve as the foundation for governance, strategy, budgeting, and decision-making. Yet over time, many schools experience mission drift as leadership changes, priorities shift, growth occurs, and day-to-day demands begin to overshadow purpose.
This interactive session is designed for governance teams - board members and school leaders - who want to strengthen the connection between their mission, vision, and governance practices. Participants will assess whether their mission and vision remain relevant, examine common sources of organizational drift, and explore how boards can use mission and vision as active tools for guiding policy, strategic priorities, and resource allocation.
Through facilitated discussions and team-based exercises, participants will evaluate their current level of alignment, identify areas that may need refinement, and determine whether a broader re-envisioning process is needed. The session will also provide practical guidance on engaging stakeholders in mission and vision work and discuss when strategic planning can serve as a valuable framework for translating purpose into action.
Teams will leave with a clearer understanding of the board’s role in leading mission-centered governance, a framework for assessing alignment at their own school, and concrete next steps for strengthening the connection between purpose, strategy, and results.
