Committee Members- HREC
Anne Wake-DePasquale, Committee Chair, serves HREC as a member of the Hollis School Board. She is a teacher and curriculum designer by profession, with experience in various roles in education spanning classroom teacher, Department Chair, Learning Specialist, Instructional Coach and Vice Principal of Curriculum and Instruction. She volunteered to serve on this committee because she wanted to help find ways to protect Hollis from the kinds of damaging effects caused by overcrowding classrooms and the elimination of community spaces in schools (such as libraries and staff rooms), which she has witnessed take place in other schools throughout her career. Her goal is to find solutions to maximize the educational experience of Hollis’s children at a reasonable cost to Hollis taxpayers.
Gina Bergskaug, Superintendent, has served in various capacities in the field of education for 28 years including serving as a District leader in SAU41 for over a decade. Throughout her career, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to ensuring that all students have equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities within a safe and supportive setting while maintaining a strong focus on fiscal responsibility.
As a member of several district facilities planning committees, including multiple renovation and expansion initiatives, Superintendent Bergskaug brings valuable historical perspective, operational expertise, and a comprehensive understanding of both the current condition of district facilities and the evolving needs of students, staff, and the broader community. Recognizing that facility investments have far-reaching implications for student learning, safety, community engagement, and financial stability, she is committed to helping the committee evaluate options through a district-wide lens. She welcomes questions, shares relevant data and context, and works collaboratively to identify solutions that meet current needs while positioning the district for future growth and success.
Paula Izbicki, Principal, has dedicated 25 years to education and has served as an administrator at Hollis Primary School for more than 12 years. Throughout her tenure, she has remained committed to providing students with a safe, supportive, and high-quality educational experience while being mindful of the financial responsibility owed to taxpayers.
As a member of the Building Renovation and Expansion Committee, Paula's role is to provide historical context, operational insight, and a clear understanding of the building's current challenges and future needs. She is committed to answering questions, sharing information, and helping the committee evaluate solutions that support student safety, learning, growth, and long-term sustainability for the community.
Lance Finamore, SAU 41 Facilities Director, has served in his current role for six years, and been in the field for almost 20 years. Capital improvement is always a top priority, and having served on multiple committees in his time at SAU 41, he feels this committee has become a crucial benefit to making Hollis School District the best it can be. In his time here, he has seen first hand the implications of the current conditions in the Hollis school buildings and cares deeply about alleviating the issues that persist. Bringing staff and the community together to try and accomplish this goal is incredibly motivational for him and his staff.
Ellen Roos-Unger, HPS Classroom Teacher, is a first grade teacher at HPS. She volunteers to serve on the committee to represent classroom teachers and give input to the committee from a classroom teacher’s perspective. Her goal is to help to find solutions to the use of space with the growing population of the school. Her input is focused on daily and long term challenges staff members face when space is at a minimum while still maintaining maximum student achievement.
Julia Piskorski, Parent Representative, has lived in Hollis since 2014. She has had children in the Hollis Primary School since her oldest child started school before Covid. Over this time period, she has seen many changes in the school as enrollment has increased and the school district navigated through Covid. She volunteered for this committee to understand how the space constraints within the school affect children and help identify solutions. Julia also serves the committee as Communications Liaison with Stacy to ensure that prompt and accurate information is clearly disseminated to various organizations in the Town of Hollis.
Stacy Esposito, Parent Representative & HREC Secretary, is a Hollis resident, parent, licensed mental health counselor, and business owner. Through both her professional work and her experiences as a parent, she understands the importance of environments that allow children to learn, grow, and thrive during their formative years.
She volunteered to serve on the Hollis Renovation and Expansion Committee because she is concerned about the school’s growing space constraints and wants to help evaluate the challenges and potential solutions facing the community. Her goal is to ensure residents remain informed and engaged throughout the process while exploring options that are fiscally responsible and responsive to the needs of students and staff. She believes the committee’s work is an opportunity to thoughtfully plan for the future while preserving the values that make Hollis a strong community. Stacy also serves the committee as Communications Liaison with Julia to ensure that prompt and accurate information is clearly disseminated to various organizations in the Town of Hollis.
Tom Enright, Hollis Community Representative, has more than 20 years experience serving on Hollis school boards, including working on six construction bonds. Tom volunteered to serve on HREC because he would like to contribute to making this project a success.
Ada Stevens, Hollis Community Representative, moved to Hollis with her husband after both worked their entire careers (45 and 25 years, respectively) in the inner city public schools of Los Angeles, California. Their students were all first and second generation Americans and they worked hard to give them a better chance through high level teaching and learning. During her career, Ada wore many hats including teacher, principal (Elem and MS), area director/principal leader, Lead Instructional Director in Innovation and Support Center, and Senior Director of Middle Schools at the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. She and her husband were drawn to Hollis because of the small farming town, the preservation of the community, and the schools where their grandchildren may one day attend. Ada’s goals for participating in HREC are to represent the community and assist in finding solutions to the identified areas of concern.
Julie Spence, Professional Volunteer, is a Hollis resident, parent, licensed architect, and Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP) with more than 26 years of experience, the majority of which has focused on the planning and design of educational facilities. She and her husband chose Hollis as the place to raise their two daughters, who attend SAU 41 schools. As both a parent and an education-focused professional, she understands the importance of strong schools and learning environments that support students, staff, and the broader community.
She is interested in serving on the Hollis Enrollment Committee because she believes her professional experience, combined with her perspective as a parent and community member, can contribute meaningfully to the committee’s work. Through her work with school districts throughout New England, she helps communities assess enrollment trends, evaluate facility needs, and plan for future growth. She is committed to helping Hollis make thoughtful, informed decisions that support its schools and community for years to come.
Mike Leavitt, Hollis Budget Committee Representative, is an electrical/computer engineer and program manager retired from Sanders/BAE Systems. He has lived in Hollis since 1979 and seen all three of his children attend Hollis schools. Since his retirement in 2006 he has been a volunteer on a number of town committees including the Budget and Energy Committees and the Planning Board. He has also been a member of all the Hollis School upgrade programs since 2020. His engineering and planning experience are useful in evaluation of our project plans as they develop. His goal is to help the Hollis schools maintain the best possible environment for our community’s children as our town grows and evolves.
Raphael Zack, HSB HREC Alternate Representative and HSB Rep to Hollis Budget Committee, comes from an engineering background and has children in the Hollis school system. As a member of the Hollis School Board, he is the representative to the Hollis Budget Committee and Hollis Capital Expenditure Advisory Committee. As such, he has insights into the planned capital projects for the Hollis and COOP schools as well as for the town. He aims to provide taxpayers with as much information as possible as they make decisions regarding the growing facility needs of HPS.