Board of Regents Welcomes New Members

Back row from left to right: Ken Coopman, Pam Corradi, Sharron Dowthwaite Nelson ‘75, Libby Ghekiere, Rafe Vega, and Mike Chiarodit ‘82. Middle row: Stuart Posin, Erica Menke, Sr. Sheila Browne RSM, Christy Rodriguez Futernick ‘88, Sr. Nancy Jurecki, OP, and Tim Chan. Front row: Amza Bossom, Johnnie Whitaker, and Gary Arakelian ‘88. Not pictured: Benedict Coulter, Denise Gutches, Francis Largoza, Fr. Francis Mendoza, Tanner Ragland, and Anne Zwart

Board of Regents Welcomes Five New Members

Joining the Board of Regents for the 2017-2018 school year are five new members, though they aren’t all new to Providence High School. Amza Bossom and Johnnie Whitaker are current PHS parents, Mike Chiarodit ‘82 is a Providence alumnus, and Rafe Vega retired last June from PHS after nearly 45 years of teaching. While new to Providence, Tanner Ragland was a former student of Mr. Joe Sciuto’s at Campbell Hall School, and then was a colleague of his at The Buckley School. The Providence High School community welcomes these new members and looks forward to their involvement.

AMZA BOSSOM Horse Trainer, Walbrook Farm

Amza is the mother of Bayne ’20, who came to Providence from Clairbourn School. Bayne is a high level, ranked, polo player. The Bossoms are a horse family; they own a number of horses and support Bayne’s passion for polo.

The Bossoms live in Glendale, but they are building a house in Santa Barbara. Amza’s husband, Andrew, is the Managing Director, Head of the L.A. Office for Guy Carpenter, a leading

MIKE CHIARODIT ’82 Vice President, Blue Shield of California

As Vice President of Premier Accounts Account Management in Southern California, Mike has primary responsibility for account management, development and execution of sales strategy and maintaining effective relationships with leading healthcare consultants and clients. Mike has been with Blue Shield for over eight years.

Mike graduated from Providence High in 1982. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a Master of Business degree from the University of Southern California. Mike lives in Toluca Lake with his wife, Becky, and son, Danny.

TANNER RAGLAND Director of Technology and Robotics, Milken Community Schools

Prior to his position at Milken School, Tanner served as Senior Director of Research and Technology at King Sports Enterprises, a startup company in the sport of boxing, where he wrote and implemented a one-of-a-kind Moneyball algorithm for identifying and procuring talent.

Tanner has an extensive background in independent schools and technology. He began his career in education as a high school History and Computer Science teacher. He was formerly the Director of Technology at Westside Neighborhood School and he spent nine years at The Buckley School as Department Chair of both Computer Science and Educational Technology.

Tanner attended Campbell Hall School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree at UCLA.

Tanner and his wife Erin have a daughter, Quinn, who is four years old, and a son, Emmett, who is two years old.

RAFE VEGA Retired, former PHS Faculty After nearly 50 years working as an educator, Mr. Vega retired from teaching this past June. He started teaching at Providence in September of 1968 and though he left PHS for four years, during which time he taught at Mayfield Senior School and Salesian High School, for more than forty years he made Providence his home.

Mr. Vega was born in Panama, but was raised primarily in Los Angeles. Due to his parents’ dedication to their heritage, he is bilingual. He is a graduate of Loyola High School, where his experience of Jesuit education started him thinking about a career in teaching. During college at Georgetown University, he called Washington, D.C., home. Over the years, Mr. Vega has served the Catholic Church in a variety of ways. He has been active in a number of parishes, especially in liturgical ministries. He served as a member of the L.A. Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission. Twice he was called upon to be the Commission’s chairperson. Mr. Vega was a member of the deaconate education staff, dedicating himself to the development of future deacons and their concern for social justice issues. He has been a speaker at the Regional Religious Education gatherings as well as the Archdiocesan Religious Education Congress. He served as a member of the L.A. Synod Implementation Committee and participated in the work of establishing the San Fernando Regional Pastoral Council. At the national level of Church work, Mr. Vega served a term on a committee of the National Campaign for Human Development.

JOHNNIE WHITAKER Production Manager, Agron/Adidas, Inc.

Johnnie was born in Japan, and moved to Fresno, California after one year. He was raised in a Navy military family where values, discipline and independence were instilled in him at a very young age. He has two brothers and one sister living in Fresno and New York respectively. Immediately after graduating college, he moved to Los Angeles where he met his wife and landed his current job with Agron/Adidas in 1997.

He attended Fresno City College and played one year of college basketball before transferring to Fresno State University to concentrate on his studies and obtain his degree. He graduated from Fresno State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (Management Option) in 1996.

He and his wife, Adriana, have one son, Bryce Whitaker ‘20. He also has a nephew attending Providence as well, Tyler Bridges ‘18. Prior to Providence, Bryce attended St. Robert Bellarmine School.

Johnnie is very active in youth sports, specifically Bryce’s AAU basketball teams. He assists the coach with scheduling games and tournaments, room reservations and player development. He is an avid golfer; currently holding a 7.1 handicap. He is also one of the founding members of the Benchester Golf Club that was created in 1997. The golf club holds and participates in various golf tournaments throughout the City of Los Angeles benefiting such causes as pediatric cancer, battered women, Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club, and the Midnight Mission.

Johnnie is a big sports fan, and he is an enthusiastic L.A. Lakers fan. Johnnie knew that PHS would be a good fit for Bryce academically and athletically, but he has been thrilled to watch Bryce get so involved in other areas of our school. He was especially impressed with Bryce’s leadership singing and dancing with his class on Theme Night.