Created by the legislature in 2004, the IPCSC is comprised of seven commissioners. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor (3 members), Senate Pro Tempore (2 members) or Speaker of the House (2 members). They serve four-year terms, and officers are elected every two years in the spring. The IPCSC is staffed by the Office of the State Board of Education. As Idaho’s largest authorizer of public charter schools, the IPCSC endeavors to implement best practices for the evaluation of new charter petitions, oversight of operating schools, and consideration of charter renewals.
Sherrilynn Bair graduated from Idaho State University and received her Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix. Commissioner Bair’s involvement with education includes working as a literacy specialist, online teacher, community library director, and curriculum director. Commissioner Bair and her husband, Mark Bair, are lifelong residents of Idaho. They have five children and seventeen grandchildren.
Commissioner Bair is committed to making sure all Idaho children have educational opportunities that meet their individual and family needs.
Karen’s career in state government began in 1990. She has worked with Water Resources, Department of Health and Welfare, State Controller and Department of Administration. She began her work in education in 2003 with the State Board of Education as the Governmental Affairs Officer. In this position she was primarily responsible for the promulgation of all the rules in Idaho that are related to education. In 2005 she was promoted to the Deputy Director at OSBE. In 2008 she accepted a position as the Executive Director of the Idaho School Boards Association where she represented over 900 elected school board trustees and charter board trustees all over Idaho. In this role she assisted board trustees with legislative agendas, provision of resources and oversight of her staff and ISBA services.
Dr. Fisher comes to the commission with a vast background in education, governance, and public policy. Prior to stepping into his current Presidency in 2020, Dr. Fisher served as the Provost for SUNY Corning Community College and as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor for a Member of Congress where he provided oversight for the Congressman’s Oklahoma district operations and Washington, DC staff. Prior to his Congressional service, he served in a variety of administrative roles for thirty years at Rose State College, a community college in Oklahoma City. His last role at Rose State College was Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
In addition to his work in administration and public policy, he has regularly taught undergraduate and graduate courses in history, humanities, leadership and student development.
Nils Peterson retired from Washington State University in 2011 after a career designing technology-based learning systems and assessing student learning outcomes. As Assistant Director of the University’s Center for Teaching Learning and Technology, he played a key role in the university’s 2009 accreditation cycle. With his passion for learner-centered school models, he served as board chair during the founding and 2009 opening of Palouse Prairie Charter School.
Commissioner Peterson now serves as Executive Director of the Moscow Affordable Housing Trust, a non-profit whose mission is to create affordable home ownership opportunities within the city of Moscow.
Wanda Quinn received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington; her Master in Education from University of Idaho; and her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga Law School. Commissioner Quinn’s involvement with K-12 education includes twelve years on the Coeur d’Alene School District Board of Trustees. She is a past president of the Idaho School Boards Association and co-founder of the EXCEL Foundation. She has served on the boards of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce and Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club. She currently serves as Program Development Specialist for the University of Idaho in Coeur d’Alene.
PCSC Chairman Alan Reed served on the Idaho Falls District 91 School Board from 1994 through 2003. For seven of those years, he served as chairman. He attended Ricks College and University of Idaho at University Place in Idaho Falls.
Chairman Reed is the president and co-owner of Reed’s Dairy in Idaho Falls, a milking, bottling and sales company that manufactures ice cream and cheese. Reed has shipped his specialty dairy products nationwide and to Japan. He was born and raised in Idaho Falls and married his high school sweetheart, Holly. They have four children and nine grandchildren.
After graduating from Boston College’s School of Management, Brian Scigliano has spent the last twenty-five years in the financial services field. He relocated his practice and his family to the Treasure Valley in 1998. As the child of two dedicated educators, a father of seven, and grandfather of five, he has long been a vocal supporter of educational choices for families.
Commissioner Scigliano currently serves on the board of the Children’s Home Society of Idaho and is president of the Idaho Human Rights Commission. He lives in Boise with his wife and daughter.