About US

ABOUT ACE

ACE is a privately funded, non-profit educational organization that works with selected San Francisco Bay Area accredited school partners and continuing education organizations to meet today’s adult learning and teaching opportunities at the place of the student’s employment.

ACE is focused on partnerships with exceptional educational organizations that bring expanded education to students at their place of work – the school.

The result: ACE Learning Centers and partner education organizations have the teachers, tools and curriculum that help ensure that adults and college-bound students receive the knowledge and expertise necessary to express themselves, interpret the world around them, deepen their understanding of academic content or learn English to get their job done.

Who We Are

Martha Sessums, President
Philip M. Mustain, General Manager

Board of Directors

Martha Sessums, President
Philip M. Mustain, Treasurer
Dr. Paul D. Krivonos, Secretary
Ronald Loiacono, Director
Diane Guthmann, Director

Martha Sessums – President
Martha has built a resumé in high technology public relations managing external and internal communications, positioning and marketing. She has held management positions at Covad Communications, Hill and Knowlton Inc., Brodeur & Partners Public Relations, Network Equipment Technologies, Western Digital Corporation, Apple Computer and Regis McKenna Public Relations in addition to a freelance communications career. Currently she’s the San Francisco Ambassador writing for the online and print magazines of France Today plus the Bonjour Paris online magazine. She is also a Webinar Host for Bonjour Paris Live. She served as Vice President of Communications for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Martha earned an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Philip M. Mustain – General Manager
Philip has shaped a career managing the operations, sales and marketing for companies in the Internet, wireless, cable and video markets. Philip has held management positions at FrontBridge Technologies, Inc., Wireless Holdings, Inc., Bay Area Cablevision. Inc., and Four-Phase Systems, Inc. He earned a B.S. in Marketing at California State University, Long Beach.

Dr. Paul D. Krivonos – Secretary
Paul is Emeritus Professor of Communication Studies at California State University, Northridge (CSUN); from 1991-1999 he was Chair of the Communication Studies Department; from 1999-2002 he was Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Media, and Communication; and from 2002-2005 was the Director of the Public Sector Management program in the Tseng College at CSUN. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in Communication. He served as a Board member and President of the Alliance for Distance Education in California.

Ronald Loiacono – Director
Ron graduated from Fordham University with a BS in Finance and has held management positions in companies including Trans World Airlines and Equitec (a SF based Financial Planning firm). In the 1980’s, Ron was one of the founders of a wireless cable company called Premiere Cablevision which was eventually acquired by a Canadian Company called Le Group Videotron. During the past two decades, Ron has been the Executive Director of a non-profit firm called Catholic Telemedia Network. CTN today serves 10 dioceses in the Western U.S. with resource purchasing for K-8 schools and has developed a subscription website that is viewed throughout the U.S.

Diane Guthmann – Director
Diane is a marketing leader with more than 30 years experience in the technology industry where she built a career managing global programs and teams. She has held senior management positions at Dropbox, Ruckus Networks, VMware and Nortel Networks. During the course of her career she has received awards for channel marketing leadership, social media campaigns and integrated marketing programs. Diane earned an MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business, Boston, MA.

Contact Us
The Association for Continuing Education (ACE)
164 Main Street, Suite 110
Los Altos, CA 94022

Equal Opportunity At ACE
It is the policy of ACE to afford equal employment opportunity to all individuals, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or sexual orientation. Our employees, as well as applicants and others with whom we do business, will not be subjected to sexual, racial, religious, ethnic, or any other form of unlawful harassment and/or discrimination. In addition, ACE adheres to the equal employment opportunity requirements of Federal and State governments and all localities in which it does business. We are completely committed to these principles—not only because of the various laws which address these subjects—but because it is the right thing to do.

ACE’s commitment to equal opportunity is applied through every aspect of the employment relationship, including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, placement, training, compensation, promotion, transfer, termination, and all other matters of employment.

Governance
A Board of Directors leads ACE with all of the powers of governing, directing and overseeing the management and affairs of the organization. The corporate governance principles of ACE are composed of a series of documents adopted by the Board of Directors and reviewed periodically to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the organization and reflect current industry best practices. Membership requirements for the Board are uniform and follow best practices for corporate boards. Governance procedures provide clear guidance about expectations and enhance Board and individual Board member performance and include:

• Board Responsibilities – Approved 12/11/2004
• Code of Conduct: Board of Directors – Approved 12/11/2004
• Board Meeting Rules – Approved 12/11/2004
• Board Member Conflict of Interest Questionnaire – Approved 12/11/2004
• Document Retention and Destruction Policy – Approved 3/28/2009
• Whistleblower Policy and Procedures – Approved 3/28/2009

 

Financials and Reporting
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization, ACE relies solely on private funding. ACE does not accept funding from any Federal, State or other governmental organization.

Copies of the organization’s annual financial reporting and tax reports are available at the organization’s business offices during regular business hours or can be viewed online at the California State Attorney General’s website.