Recognizing The Challenges

Liz Dreckman serves as President and Executive Director of Arizona School Choice Trust and Choose a School. She is also the co-founder of Arizona Inclusion Network. Dreckman has worked in the world of education reform and school choice for over two decades across the country. She previously served as Development and Outreach Manager for the Alliance for School Choice and American Federation for Children, and outreach coordinator for the Institute for Justice. Dreckman also conducted education research and authored education studies and publications for various publications and organizations in the State Policy Network. Dreckman has an honors degree in political theory and constitutional democracy from James Madison College at Michigan State University. She serves as current President of the East Valley National Charity League and in various volunteer roles in local schools and organizations. She is a mother of two and lives in Arizona.

 

Patti O’Brien joined Arizona School Choice Trust in August of 2016 as the Scholarship Director. Ms. O’Brien’s background is in non-profit management, specializing in project management, donor and board relations, event and volunteer management, and fundraising. Prior to joining ASCT, she served as Events Manager with the Goldwater Institute, and as Project Manager for the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), an organization created by top Hispanic thought leaders to reframe the portrayal of Latinos in America.  

As Annual Giving Manager at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Ms. O’Brien built the infrastructure for an annual giving program and secured grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. Ms. O’Brien managed stewardship and cultivation events for the Foundation, and assisted in executing a dinner in Mr. Wright’s private residence for Martha Stewart and a group of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1,000 CEOs. Ms. O’Brien has also held roles at the Make-A-Wish Foundation national headquarters in Phoenix, AZ, Barry University in Miami Shores, FL, and Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School in St. Louis, MO. Ms. O’Brien started her career as a political consultant and fundraiser for the re-election campaign of former U. S. Senator Jim Talent from Missouri. She worked in campaign fundraising with numerous public officials, corporate and community leaders, including Tony Snow and First Lady Laura Bush, and led the internal advance team for private events with former President George W. Bush.

Ms. O’Brien is a proud native of Saint Louis, Missouri, and holds a B.A. in Communication from Saint Louis University.