CCAP recognizes significant contributions to California’s charter school authorizing profession by bestowing up to two awards annually:

Nominations for the 2026 CCAP Authorizing Awards will be accepted online at the button below, through May 5, 2026:

Congratulations to the recipients of CCAP’s 2025 Excellence in Authorizing Awards!

At the 2025 California Charter School Authorizers Conference in Palm Springs, CCAP honored two outstanding leaders with its annual Excellence in Authorizing Awards.

Deidre Walsh, Director of the Charter School Office at San Diego Unified School District, received the Authorizing Exemplar Award for setting a statewide benchmark in oversight practices. With 39 charter schools serving over 18,000 students, Walsh has cultivated stability, autonomy, and trust through consistent guidance, collaborative advisory groups, and transparent relationships with school leaders.

Amanda Goldman, Director of Innovative Schools in Sacramento City Unified School District, earned the Authorizing Community Contributor Award. Leading a small but effective team overseeing 15 charters, she has fostered collaboration across districts and county offices, ensuring colleagues feel supported rather than isolated. Drawing on her 20 years in the charter sector, Goldman actively shares resources, builds networks, and champions practices that strengthen oversight statewide.

UPDATED (November 2025): More congratulations are in order for Deidre Walsh! CCAP’s two annual authorizer awardees in turn become California’s nominees for the equivalent awards at the national level that are bestowed by the National Network for District Authorizing (NN4DA). At the annual meeting of the NN4DA last month in Houston, held in conjunction with the annual conference of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), Deidre was announced as the recipient of the NN4DA’s Local Exemplar Award. She’s in good company, as past recipients of both the California and the national awards include Corey Loomis, Director of Charter and Community Schools for the Riverside County Office of Education, and Indra Ciccarelli, Director of the Charter Schools Office of the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Tom (left); Nancy Wheelhouse, Fund Specialist, Bee Moua, Budget Analyst, and Amanda Goldman, Director, Innovative Schools in SCUSD; Indra; and Corey.

Congratulations to Indra Ciccarelli, Director of the Charter Schools Office of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, who is the 2024 recipient of the Local Authorizing Exemplar Award from the National Network for District Authorizing (NN4DA). Indra was previously recognized at CCAP’s June 2024 conference with CCAP’s inaugural Authorizer Exemplar Award, for an individual authorizing staff or board member who has helped his or her organization develop and implement one or more particularly promising and/or excellent authorizing practices. NN4DA’s 2023 Local Authorizing Exemplar Award recipient was Corey Loomis, Director of the Charter Schools Office of the Riverside County Office of Education. 

Indra receiving the award plaque from CCAP Executive Director Tom Hutton at CCAP’s November board retreat.

Corey Loomis (right), recognized for NN4DA’s inaugural award for innovation, forward thinking, leadership, & impact, shown with CCAP Executive Director Tom Hutton & NN4DA Executive Director Alex Medler.