Our Team
New Pacific School by Pacific Charter Institute (PCI) is a local, small-school approach to holistic TK-12 education for every child.
New Pacific School utilizes time-tested and successful social-emotional learning and standards-based education principles to ensure students become self-aware in their ability and self-directed to focus on their learning goals. PCI is a nonprofit organization founded by educators in Sacramento in 2004 that now serves more than 2,500 students in Northern California. PCI developed New Pacific School in response to a need to provide a more child-centered and resource-rich experience for academic and social-emotional education.
Paul Keefer, MBA, Ed.D.
Dr. Paul Keefer bridges the business and educational worlds through his vast experiences in both. As a charter school leader, Dr. Keefer is able to couple the experiences from UPS and dealings with Fortune 500 companies and apply them systematically to students in public education that are continually left behind. Dr. Keefer co-founded Pacific Charter Institute in 2005 and works with a team supporting four charter schools, including Rio Valley Charter School, Heritage Peak Charter School, Sutter Peak Charter Academy, and Valley View Charter Prep. The four schools serve over 3,000 students collectively in sixteen counties with an operating budget of $32 million. In addition to leading Pacific Charter Institute as the Executive Director, Dr. Keefer was elected to the Sacramento County School Board of Education in June 2018 for a four-year term.
Paul and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children and live in Carmichael. He is a board member for the Rotary Club of Sacramento and is a volunteer for Carmichael HART Student Buddy Program. Paul also serves as chairperson for the 3 Rivers District for the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Most recently Paul hiked 140 miles of the John Muir Trial this summer.
Romyl Mabanta, MFA, MAEd
Mr. Romyl Mabanta has traveled around the US and abroad as a teacher, coach, and educational leader. His K-12 expanded learning programs were recognized by the President’s Committee on Arts & Humanities. He was an Education Fellow with the Center for Shakespeare in Diverse Classrooms at UC Davis and the Globe Theatre in London. He further integrated visual and performing arts with English curricula by authoring and piloting courses for the statewide UCCI initiative.
In addition to serving as Founding Principal at New Pacific School, Mr. Mabanta is a Site Leader with Heritage Peak Charter School. Mr. Mabanta has been adjunct faculty with Los Rios Community Colleges and on select summers, he was the Assistant Course Principal of Oxford Study Course’s global IB program at Harvard and MIT. He holds bachelor’s degrees from UC San Diego; an MFA in Drama from the University of Delaware; and an MAEd in Education Administration from Stanislaus State. He is a proud member of AEA, ACSD, ACSA and Phi Kappa Phi.
Suzanne Marczak, M.Ed
After obtaining an Administrative Credential in 2005, Suzanne served as an Assistant Principal in the Natomas Unified and Dry Creek School Districts. In 2009, she moved her family to Amman, Jordan where she became the pioneering director for an International School called The Alliance Academy of Jordan. Upon her return to the United States, Suzanne was able to stay at home full-time to be mom to her four beautiful daughters. She re-entered education as a homeschooling parent in 2013 and then joined the team at Sutter Peak Charter School in 2016 where she now serves as a Lead Teacher. Suzanne holds a master’s degree in educational business administration with an emphasis in entrepreneurial education.
