New Leader Takes the Helm at Pasadena Education Network as Back-to-School Season Begins

For the first time in nearly two decades, the nonprofit that thousands of Pasadena and Altadena families often rely on to navigate the public school system has a new person running it.

Jennifer Allan Goldman took over as executive director of the Pasadena Education Network on July 1, succeeding Nancy Rose Dufford, who retired after 18 years leading the organization known to most local parents simply as PEN.

This week is a sort of ‘Ground Zero’ for PEN — Pasadena Unified School District students return to class on Monday, August 17 — the precise moment when PEN’s school tours, fact sheets, and enrollment guidance are most in demand — and coincides with the nonprofit’s 20th anniversary year.

Goldman chaired PEN’s board of directors for six years and served on it for nine.

In an interview, she said the board looked for someone with qualifications similar to Dufford’s after the longtime director announced her retirement. Goldman said the role combined her background in nonprofit management, event planning, and fundraising with her support for Pasadena Unified.

“It kind of was a perfect fit and aligned really nicely,” Goldman said.

PEN’s central mission, Goldman said, has not changed: increasing family participation in public education. She said the board agreed that PEN’s biggest strength is providing clear, unbiased information through its signature programs, including the “Choosing an Elementary School” sessions and middle and high school transition panels, all of which will return this fall.

This year PEN is also rolling out a new series of blog posts called “Ask PEN” to help families understand what Goldman described as a complicated open-enrollment system that most parents have not previously encountered. The organization will add programming on arts education and athletics at the middle and high school level, Goldman said.

Goldman said PEN is prepared to help families still navigating the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, which displaced residents across Altadena. She said the organization leans on its network of parent ambassadors — existing parents at individual schools — and can connect families to other organizations depending on the issue.

“A lot of times the best way to get your answers is to ask somebody who’s already gone through it,” Goldman said, “and that’s putting the N back in PEN, putting the network back in PEN.”

Dufford helped transform PEN from a grassroots startup into a nonprofit with more than 2,000 members that has guided over 6,500 parents through key school transitions, according to the organization. PEN began in 2003 when a group of preschool parents, concerned by what they had heard about Pasadena Unified’s schools, decided to visit campuses for themselves. It incorporated as a nonprofit in 2006 and launched its signature school tours and fact sheets at a time when campus tours were not yet standard in the district, a practice that is now offered districtwide.

“What began as a small group of parents asking questions grew into something much bigger,” Dufford said in a statement announcing the transition. “PEN has created a community of families who are informed, engaged, and connected, and our schools are better because of that.”

PUSD Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D., also acknowledged PEN’s role.

“PEN has helped bring families into PUSD, elevated the family voice, and supported opportunities for students,” Blanco said in a statement. “We appreciate the role they play in our school district.”

Goldman said she intends to build on Dufford’s legacy rather than overhaul it.

“We’re not taking anything away,” she said. “If anything, what we’re doing is adding.”

PEN serves families across Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre who have children in or considering Pasadena Unified schools. The organization’s programs, including school tours, fact sheets, and transition guidance, are free.

Families can reach PEN by calling 866-216-7334 or visiting penfamilies.org. PEN’s mailing address is 3579 East Foothill Boulevard, #481, Pasadena, CA 91107.