Board Members

President

Bentley Rayburn

board.director@cilaschool.org

Major General Bentley B. Rayburn retired from active duty in the U.S. Air Force in April of 2006. He received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975. During his Air Force career he commanded a fighter training squadron and two operational wings. The general also served on the personal staffs of the Secretary of the Air Force and of the commander of Air Combat Command, and has held the position of Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. General Rayburn also served as the Commandant/President of the Air War College, and Vice Commander of Air University, Maxwell AFB. After retiring from the Air Force, General Rayburn served as the President of Colorado Technical University in Southern Colorado. He has Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and basic sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. He has been with our school since its inception.

Vice President

Pete Heinz

board.vicepresident@cilaschool.org

BBA, Management, Loyola Marymount University; MA, Management, Webster University; PhD, Second Language Acquisition, The Ohio State University.

Pete Heinz retired as a full Colonel following 26 years of service in the United States Air Force, 16 of which a Tenure Associate Professor of German and Director of International Programs at the United States Air Force Academy. He served six years as the Dean of Languages, Distance Education, and Military Programs at Pikes Peak Community College. Mr. Heinz is currently a Supervisory Education Services Specialist for the US Army at the Fort Carson, Colorado Education Center.

Treasurer

Tom Strand

board.treasurer@cilaschool.org

Tom Strand, a retired military officer, has been a leader for more than 30 years. In the U.S. Air Force, he was the senior lawyer and commandant of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) School in Montgomery, Ala. After retiring from JAG, he returned to Colorado Springs in 2005 and served his community by participating on numerous committees, councils and commissions, including the District 11 Citizen’s Bond Review Committee. He also served as vice president and president of the District 11 Board of Education. Currently, Tom is serving as treasurer on the Colorado International Language Academy Board, a K-8th grade language immersion school, volunteers as a business mentor with the Colorado Springs Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and as a facilitator for the Food 4 Thought organization. He has also served as treasurer for the Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC), and as chairman of the Colorado Springs Human Relations Commission and as a board member of the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Council.Tom and his wife Shannon have two daughters and a son, and five grandchildren. When not working for the City or volunteering, you’ll find Tom and Shannon enjoying our beautiful outdoors—hiking, biking, fishing and playing golf.