Meet our Board Members
Dorothy C. Sievert, Ph.D., President
Dorothy Sievert (Dottie) earned a BA in Spanish from Purdue University, MA in Spanish Literature at Loyola University-Chicago, and a Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Loyola University-Chicago. She began her career in education as a Spanish teacher in high schools in Denver, Colorado and in the Chicago suburbs. She then joined the administrative team as a Dean of Students at Willowbrook High School, Associate Principal at York High School, and Principal at Crete-Monee High School and at Wheeling High School.
After her retirement from the Principalship in 2007, she taught at Concordia University and was a State of Illinois Mentor to new high school principals in the northwest suburbs. She has been a Rotarian since 2001 and attends meetings of the Poipu Beach Rotary Club and is a Past President of the Wheeling Rotary Club. Dottie resides in Koloa. with her husband, Pete. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Joseph Daisy, Vice President
Joseph Daisy became chancellor at Kauai Community College on February 3, 2020. He has more than 42 years of experience in secondary education as a teacher, vice-principal, principal, and in higher education.
Prior to his appointment at Kauaʻi CC, Daisy was president and CEO of the College of Micronesia-Federated States of Micronesia, a role in which he served from 2012. Before that, at Cambridge College in Massachusetts, he was executive vice president; vice president for college affairs and enrollment management; assistant vice president for policy, research and communications; and director of research and evaluation. Also at Cambridge College, Daisy was a senior faculty member in the School of Education’s graduate programs in education, leadership and research; and founding director of the doctor of education degree program.
Daisy has successfully addressed accreditation issues, facilitated the establishment of a 501(c)(3)foundation, and worked collaboratively to achieve student-centered learning. His professional and personal journey has led him to public, private, and nonprofit organizations, domestically and internationally.
He holds a doctorate in education in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University, a master of education in educational administration, and a bachelor of arts in history from Suffolk University.
Daisy noted, “I am pleased to have been selected to serve on the board of GOOTOK, and look forward to supporting its important mission to address the critical need for teachers on Kauai.”
Rebecca K. Fries, Ed.D., Treasurer
Rebecca K. Fries, Ed.D. is a retired educator of 34 years with experience as a school psychologist, elementary counselor, Coordinator of Diagnostic Services, and Director of Special Education for a school district and a Special Education Cooperative. She received her B.A. in education from Concordia University Chicago, her M.A. from The University of Iowa, and her Ed.D. from the University of Illinois. She has been a member of Rotary International since 1989 and is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Po’ipu Beach. She has also been a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an International Society of Women Educators since 1988, and is a member of the Eta Chapter here on Kauai. Rebecca is a member of The Mokihana Club, a Kauai Women’s Service Organization, was their Historian for 5 years, and currently is the chair of the Nursing Scholarship Committee. She has been a volunteer at the National Tropical Botanical Garden since 2010 and was last year’s nominee for the Older American Award. Rebecca is also a member of the Friends of Kauai Community College Committee. She is also a Site Leader for the NOAA Annual Whale Count on Kauai and spends her free time gardening and playing golf.
Nance Overton, Secretary
Nance Overton hails from California. She and her husband, Al, owned their home here for over 20 years. After a few years in teaching, Nance built a successful 30-year career as a professional technical writer, working in the fields of construction, aerospace, and computer software. She served as the Director of Education for the Sacramento Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (creating their annual technical writing competition for high school students) and she created an Employee Mentoring Program at the software company where she last worked in Northern California.
Since moving to Kauai, she has also served as volunteer Secretary on the Board of her Hula Halau, Papa Laua`e o Makana, and on the Board of the Kauai North Shore Community Foundation.
Monique Kan-Souza, Director
Monique Kan-Souza was born in Australia and raised on Oahu. She graduated with a BA in English from the University of Hawaii at Manoa has lived on Kauai for 30+ years. She worked as an Advertising Account Executive for the Garden Island Newspaper and then as a stay-at-home Mom for 7 years.
Monique began volunteering at Wilcox Elementary School when her youngest daughter was in Kindergarten and did the school’s Wilikoki Newsletter for several years. It was there that she found her second calling through substitute teaching, which she did for over 10 years.
Monique went back to school to earn a BEd in Elementary Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2014, through their distance learning program. She is now a tenured teacher at Wilcox Elementary School. She prides herself on teaching using GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) strategies that promote academic language and literacy for all students, especially English-language learners, as well as incorporating culturally-relevancy in her lessons.
Monique was appointed to the board in 2015 and is also a GOOTOK Award recipient herself. She brings to the board a love of our island of Kauai, a life-long love of learning, a college student’s voice, and a dedication to the teaching profession.
Margaret Sanchez, Director
Margaret Sanchez is a passionate equity driven leader who has 24 years of experience in higher education. She began as Interim Chancellor for Kauai Community College in January of 2023.
Before her appointment as Interim Chancellor, Margaret served as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Her office was responsible for ensuring that student services are consistent with the Strategic Plan of the College, reviewing new program proposals, evaluating program outcomes, and recommending personnel actions such as hiring, promotion and tenure.
Before joining the Kauaʻi CC leadership team in 2017, Sanchez served as Dean of Matriculation and Assessment at City College of San Francisco. She served as a trainer and steering committee member for Leading From the Middle, a professional development leadership program dedicated to developing and equipping middle leaders from California Community Colleges.
She also served as both Learning Center Director and MESA Director, a learning community for students pursuing four-year degrees in STEM, at Mendocino College. Sanchez was a bilingual math/science instructor to high school migrant students and served in the U.S. Peace Corps as a middle school science and English instructor and a field education officer in the Southern African country of Botswana.
Paul Zina, Director
Nancy Kanna, Honorary Board Member
Nancy Kanna has a varied background in government relations, community outreach and engagement, communications, leadership, and sales and marketing. She has worked in the shrimp aquaculture and real estate industries. She presently is the Interim Executive Director of the Kaua`i Economic Development Board. The Kaua`i Community is her passion, and she sits on several Boards and Community Advisory groups including Growing Our Own Teachers on Kaua‘i, Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation, Hale Opio CP Hui, Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, Kaua‘i Police Activities League, Rotary Club of Poipu Beach and the Built Environment Task Force. She mentors for the Youth of the Year Program for the Boys and Girls Club.
Nancy lives in Hanapepe with her husband and son.
Kani (DrB) Blackwell, Ph.D., Honorary Board Member
Dr. Kani Blackwell (aka DrB) was an educator for 54 years; starting her career at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and concluding her years of service at University of Hawaii, Manoa. DrB has been a classroom teacher, an elementary school principal of an Arts Specialist school, and was founder of the Fine Arts Magnet Education School (FAME) which continues today.
In 1993, she began her work as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, overseeing twelve K-8 schools with an average daily attendance of 12,500 students After 25 years in public education within the California Department of Education, she returned to where she began, teaching at the university level in 1996. Until recently, DrB was a full time faculty member at University of Hawaii, Manoa (UHM) and served as the Elementary Coordinator for Teacher Education on Kauai. She was instrumental in starting and overseeing the Statewide Teacher Education Program at UHM that exists today which allows teacher candidates to stay on their own island instead of having to move to Oahu to obtain their teaching credential. Before accepting her position at the University of Hawaii in 2003, DrB was a tenured professor in Psychological Foundations of Learning for California State University, Monterey Bay in California.
She applied her doctorate in Cognitive Psychology to Education, researching how children learn. She retired from full-time teaching in 2010 but continued to teach as an adjunct professor for UHM, teaching another 10 years. She retired completely in 2020.
DrB has been an international speaker at research and professional development conferences and is an enthusiastic speaker for service organizations. In 2006, she co-founded with Hanalei Bay Rotary Club, “Growing Our Own Teachers on Kauai” (GOOTOK), a non-profit organization assisting future teachers with their last semester of student teaching. DrB served on the GOOTOK Board of Directors as an advisor. She co-founded Alakai O Kauai Public Charter School, approved by the Hawaii Charter Commission in August of 2016 and opened in the Fall of 2018. DrB served as Chair of the school’s Governing Board from 2014-2020.
Today, DrB is an Honorary Member of the GOOTOK Board and spends her retirement years in joining service organizations: the Mokihana Club, American Association University Women (AAUW), the Kapaa Lions Club, the education organization Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG – Eta Chapter) and the Performing Arts for All (PAFA), a new non-profit for Kauai.