School Governing Board

DeAnna has been engaged in providing and supporting quality educational options in Arizona for over 25 years. Following her early years as a teacher, she transitioned to administration and then charter school oversight. Prior to joining BASIS Charter Schools, Inc. as Executive Director, she served as Executive Director of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, the nation’s largest charter school authorizer. In that position she was responsible for both the academic and fiscal oversight of over 95% of Arizona charter schools, strategic planning and implementation, policy development, implementation and coordination, and the development of relationships with educational partners. Mrs. Rowe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a Master’s Degree in Education.

Julie Kearney, Vice President of Operations, began her BASIS Ed career in 2013 as the Head of Operations at BASIS Scottsdale. In 2015, she was the founding Head of Operations at BASIS Scottsdale Primary East, and two years later she transitioned into School Management working at the BASIS Ed Central Office. She has had the pleasure to work with school leaders across the network to scale and support the things that make BASIS Ed great. Prior to working at BASIS, Julie spent eight years in aerospace manufacturing at Curtiss-Wright Controls Integrated Sensing. During her tenure she worked in manufacturing operations, materials management, and product sales and support.

Ms. Mason joined BASIS in 2007. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a M.A. in Classics from the University of Arizona. Before coming to BASIS, she worked as a lecturer at both the UA and the UA’s Study Abroad Program in Orvieto, Italy. In 2010, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to the American Academy in Rome’s Classical Summer School. Ms. Mason originally joined BASIS Tucson to establish the 5th grade Latin and Classics program. She later served as the Head of School at BASIS Oro Valley from 2013-2016. During her tenure, BASIS Oro Valley received numerous national accolades, including being ranked #1 America’s Most Challenging High Schools by the Washington Post. In 2014, Ms. Mason led the opening of BASIS Oro Valley Primary. Ms. Mason then joined BASIS.ed as Associate Vice President for two years but seized the opportunity to return to a school in 2018. She currently serves the exceptional teachers, staff, and families at BASIS Tucson Primary as the Head of School.

Melissa joined BASIS Charter Schools in 2017. She held the role of Operations Director for BASIS Tucson North and Head of Operations for BASIS Mesa before transferring to BASIS Chandler Primary South. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and participated in the Women’s Leadership Program at the Yale School of Management.

Anthony (Tony) Pitucco is a faculty member at Pima Community College, West Campus in Tucson, Arizona where he is currently the Department Chair of the Physical and Geological Sciences. He also teaches in the mathematics, philosophy, and humanities departments at PCC. Dr. Pitucco holds a B.S. in Physics (1970), a M.Ed. in Philosophy and Foundations of Education (1975), a M.S. in Mathematics (1983), and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in the area of mathematical physics (1991) all from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Pitucco has also participated in and chaired a number of local, state, and national tasks forces on education, the impact of emerging educational technologies, and the role of mathematics and science education through both the Department of Education and The National Science Foundation.

Dr. Raksanaves graduated 1st in her dental school class of 93 students from the highest ranking Dental school in Thailand. She holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree with Highest Honors, a Specialty Certificate in Orthodontics and Master’s Degree in Oral Biology. After graduation she was on Faculty at University of Louisville and was in charge of the Undergraduate Orthodontic Program. She moved to Arizona to join her husband’s practice and has been practicing in Tucson for 20 years. She is a Full Member of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists and a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. Dr. Raksanaves is passionate about improving the quality of the secondary educational system in the United States.

Dr. Rizwan Safdar graduated from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore Allama Iqbal Medical College in Pakistan in 1993 and has been practicing medicine for over 19 years. His is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and specializes in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Dr. Safdar joined the BASIS family in August 2009 when his two oldest sons enrolled at BASIS Tucson. The family moved to BASIS Oro Valley when the school opened in 2010 and Dr. Safdar quickly became an active member of the school community.

Mituin Varma is a successful entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and scaling multiple companies simultaneously. Mituin has founded and co-founded several startups in various industries such as technology, e-commerce, and marketing. In 2011, Mituin founded a successful marketing company that disrupted the traditional e-commerce industry. The company quickly gained a loyal customer base and was eventually acquired by another competitor. Since then, Mituin has continued to launch and invest in new ventures, including co-founding Iconic Results in 2014 which uses technology to revolutionize the financial industry by bringing prime prospects directly to their doorstep. In his free time, Mituin loves spending time with his family. He has been married for 11 years and is the father of 3 children.