Board of Directors / Advisors
Our Board of Directors is comprised of parent volunteers from each of the six schools in the Mill Valley School District, as well as elementary and middle school teachers. In addition, the Kiddo! Executive Director, the MVSD Superintendent, the MVSD Director of Student Services, an MVSD principal, the PTA Council President, and one member of the MVSD School Board of Trustees attend meetings as members of the Advisory Board. Board meetings are held monthly when school is in session.
Our board members work together throughout the school year to ensure the financial health of Kiddo!, to manage our 11+ active committees, and to support Kiddo!’s vision of helping Mill Valley school children reach their full potential. Board meeting minutes are recorded by the board Secretary and approved by board members; Board minutes are independently audited annually. In addition, Board minutes can be viewed, by appointment, in the Kiddo! office with the Executive Director and/or a board member.
Learn about our board:
Current Officers
Jessica grew up in New Jersey and attended Georgetown University, where she received her BA and Masters in Public Policy. Jessica worked for the District of Columbia Office of Early Childhood Development, then moved to focus on health care, which included designing, building, and evaluating state Medicaid programs. She now works as a consultant, assisting clients with expanding access and improving quality of care for underserved populations. Jessica and her husband, Alan, moved to Mill Valley in 2014 and have two daughters at Old Mill School. Jessica was the President of the Old Mill School PTA, served on the Mill Valley PTA Council, and chaired the Campaign for Measure G in 2022.
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Liz grew up in Philadelphia and when she headed to Duke for college, her family moved to Mill Valley. After college, Liz worked in the Manhattan DA’s office for a year, then got a law degree at American, and spent several years as a litigator at global law firms. Liz and her husband, John, (and now three boys) have moved a lot in the last decade -- from Los Angeles to Mill Valley to Westport CT and back to Mill Valley in 2018. They are hoping to stay put now! Liz has served on preschool and PTA boards here as well as in Connecticut. In Connecticut, she also joined the board of a political organization and was elected to the Westport town council. Liz continues to be involved in local and national politics. Most recently, she worked as a co-coordinator on a successful campaign for county supervisor.
Monika moved to Mill Valley in 2016 with her husband, Adam, and son Oliver. She left her corporate job to focus on her family and to volunteer in the community, where she has held finance roles on the Boards of Park School PTA, the MV Council of PTAs, and on the Campaign Committee for Measure G. Currently she holds finance positions on the Boards for MVMS PTSA and MV Council of PTAs. Although originally from the Bay Area, Monika spent ten years in Los Angeles where she worked in project and knowledge management. While in LA, she also volunteered at Junior League of Los Angeles’ many philanthropic programs throughout greater LA. She served JLLA for ten years in leadership and on the Board of Directors. Monika has a BA in both Art History and Literature from the University of Santa Barbara. She is excited to share her commitment to the Mill Valley community and its children by serving on the KIDDO! Board.
Current Directors
Christy grew up in Southern California and attended Cal Poly SLO for undergrad and later went on to get her Masters in Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine and a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Seattle. After practicing in Seattle, Christy moved on to practice in San Francisco and has worked for nearly a decade at a concierge family practice. Christy and her husband Jeremiah have 2 children - Birdy and Ansel- who both attend Edna Maguire. The family moved to Mill Valley 3 years ago and Christy soon decided to take the opportunity to be home with the kids and has since enjoyed serving on her children's preschool board, volunteering in their classrooms, and being a room parent. Christy is excited to be involved in Kiddo! as she strongly believes in fostering a love for the arts through improving access and engagement. In her spare time you'll find Christy outdoors, snowboarding, skiing and hiking.
Cari and her husband, Bill, have lived in Mill Valley since 2005. A native of Northern California, Cari has a degree in Political Science and Business Administration from UCLA. Upon graduation, Cari worked in the financial services industry for Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney before deciding to return to school to earn her teaching credential.
As an elementary school teacher in low-income classrooms, she was able to foster her desire to serve and advocate for young children and their families. With her two young boys at home, Cari left teaching and focused on volunteering within our local community as a C.A.S.A (Court Appointed Special Advocate), supporting abused and neglected children, and as a PTA President at Park School.
Meghan grew up in the Bay Area and has lived in Mill Valley with her husband and three kids since 2018. She received her BA in English and Art History from the University of Virginia.
Meghan began her career in Public Relations before pursuing her passion to work in the culinary industry. She attended the French Culinary Institute and has worked in restaurants, as a small events catering specialist, and as a cooking class instructor. She looks forward to bringing her experience in catering, event planning, and community building to the Kiddo! Board as co-chair of Events.
Mike is an investor at Snyder Capital, a San Francisco based investment management firm. He and his wife Meghan have lived in Mill Valley since 2018 and have 2 children in the Mill Valley School District. Mike is a Boston, MA native and attended Middlebury College in Vermont and Columbia Business School in New York. In addition to supporting Kiddo!, Mike is a Mill Valley Little League coach.
Keely is a Park School parent to Charlie, Ferris and George. Originally from Richmond, VA, Keely has been in the Bay Area for nearly 20 years, and in Mill Valley for 10. With a B.A. from Vanderbilt University, she has held marketing leadership roles at food and beverage companies for the past 15 years. Most recently, she led consumer marketing as the Vice President of Marketing at Once Upon a Farm, a disruptive kid snacking company co-founded by actress and activist Jennifer Garner. Before that, she led marketing communications at Annie's Homegrown, of cheddar bunnies and mac-and-cheese fame. Keely left her corporate role to better manage her family during the crazy times of the pandemic and is now consulting part-time.
Julie grew up in the Bay Area and has lived in Mill Valley since 2019 with her husband, Aaron, and their three young daughters. Julie’s two older daughters attend Park School, and she is looking forward to having all three daughters at Park next school year. Julie attended Middlebury College in Vermont where she received a BA in Psychology and Sociology. She has worked in Education, Banking and now Real Estate. Julie is active in supporting her children's schools and activities, enjoys serving as the class room parent, and frequently volunteers for PTA roles as well as for recreational activities. Julie loves the amazing Mill Valley community and is passionate about supporting educational enrichment programs such as those funded by Kiddo!.
Casey is a native San Franciscan who went to Gettysburg College. She received her BA in Spanish and went on to continue her schooling, getting a nursing degree from College of Marin. She worked at CPMC for 10 years and continues in the nursing field. She and her husband JB have three children. She is excited to be working with and helping support Kiddo and its mission.
Susan has two children, one at MVMS, and an eldest who went through the Mill Valley School District and is now thriving at Tamalpais High School. Susan moved to Mill Valley 21 years ago from Philadelphia after marrying her husband, Geoff, and her undergraduate degree is from Wheeling University in Wheeling, West Virginia. Susan first worked as a patent and trademark paralegal and in 2005 moved on to work for CustomWeather as its business manager. Susan is also a Jazzericse (yes, Jazzercise!) instructor and teaches classes here in Marin. Susan has worked tirelessly on multiple PTA/PTSA boards over the years, including the Old Mill PTA, MVMS PTSA, Tam High PTSA, the Mill Valley PTA Council, and 16th District PTA. She also worked on the Measure G Campaign and was on the planning committee for the Kiddo! Gala in March of 2023. Susan is thrilled to be a part of the Kiddo! Executive Board as the School Rep Chair as well as the Co-Rep for MVMS this year.
Mindy grew up outside of Baltimore and attended Virginia Tech. She is currently a Managing Director at Alex. Brown where she advises individuals and families on investment, estate planning, and tax matters. She began her career at Alex. Brown in the late 90s and has moved between Baltimore, New York, and San Francisco covering a global client base. Mindy met her husband, Matt, a Mill Valley local, in 2010 and has been living in beautiful Mill Valley ever since. Mindy and Matt have two children. In her free time, she enjoys adventures with her family, reading, running, and coaching her son’s little league team.
Stephen joined the board as an MVMS Teacher rep in the 2023-24 school year. He is currently the orchestra teacher at MVMS.
Stephen - Mr. Gardner to his students - is a multi-instrumentalist who has been touring internationally for a couple decades. He is a founding member of Culann's Hounds and Beso Negro, he is a long-time violinist with La Mandanga, and has appeared on countless albums as a hired gun in such genres as country, rap, blues, rock, and more.
Stephen received his degree in Viola Performance at SFSU and also studied at the Aaron Copeland School of Music. Gardner has also taught fiddle, viola, guitar and music theory at his private studio for over a decade.
Eunice spent her formative years in a Baltimore suburb and attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. While she majored in Economics, her real passion was her Fine Arts coursework, an early sign of the emphasis Eunice places on art as a critical component of any curriculum. Following a brief stint on Wall Street, she ditched Econ for good, going to work instead for a NYC fine jewelry designer. Now intent on pursuing a career in design, Eunice earned her MS in Interior Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and accepted a position in the retail division of a NYC architecture design firm. Her career took off when she and her husband, Jerry, moved to London and she was able to join Harrods’ internal retail interior design team, her dream job. Eunice and family relocated to Mill Valley in 2018, with Eunice volunteering for various event committees and as perennial field trip chaperone every step along the way. Eunice and Jerry reside in MV with their two children (and rambunctious little pug!).
Morgan grew up in Connecticut and attended Ithaca College in New York. After college, Morgan worked for Hyatt Hotels in both Chicago and San Francisco in event planning and sales. Morgan, her husband and two boys moved to Mill Valley in 2021. Morgan’s family loves being part of the Mill Valley community. She has enjoyed volunteering and being Room Parent at her boys’ preschool. She is very excited to support Kiddo! and its mission. Morgan’s parents both worked in elementary schools and gave her a deep understanding of how important enrichment programs are in childhood.
Kate teaches 5th grade at Tam Valley School, which is also the elementary school she attended as a child. After attending MV schools, she graduated from UC Berkeley and received her teaching credential from Mills College. Before coming to the Mill Valley School District in 2006, Kate taught in the East Bay. Her history with Kiddo! goes back many years. She started as a kindergartener the year that Kiddo! began and one of Kate’s first “jobs” back in the 80’s was to spread awareness about Kiddo! through her participation in a comedy act that performed at the schools and community events.
Natasha grew up in Tokyo and Dallas. Following her studies at Dartmouth College, Natasha worked for an investment bank in Boston, New York and London. She then decided to switch gears and pursued a Masters in International Affairs at Columbia University and later joined the United Nations, working in humanitarian relief based out of New York and Sudan. Natasha, her husband, Brian, and three boys moved to Mill Valley in 2016. She's been active with the Edna Maguire PTA, is a member of the Mill Valley Little League board and is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion issues.
Laura grew up in Denver and earned her B.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2007, Laura’s sister lured her out to San Francisco where she thought she would only live for a year or two. Fifteen years later, Laura not only stayed in San Francisco, but met her husband and is now proud to call Mill Valley home with her three young girls (one currently at Tam Valley Elementary and two future Tam Valley Tiger twins!) Laura works in brand advertising, most recently for Wells Fargo, and has always loved being part of an industry that places such a high value on the arts and creativity. Laura recognizes the tremendous impact Kiddo! has on each and every student and is excited to help champion its cause.
Jill has lived in Strawberry since 2005 with her husband Marc and two energetic boys Nate and Ryan. After receiving her accounting degree in Boston, she moved out west where she found a passion for sales and marketing in the commercial furniture industry. For over 20 years, she has helped organizations express their brand through their office design. When she has time she can be found paddle boarding and hiking Mt Tam. The family is looking forward to the arrival of their new Labrador this summer, so they can get on the trails together.
Lulu Monti is a MVSD alumna having grown up in Mill Valley and attended Old Mill, MVMS and Tam High School growing up. She earned her BA in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and also spent a year abroad studying Italian. She currently teaches 4th grade at Strawberry Point Elementary where she also helps to run the school’s Green Team. She has been teaching in the Mill Valley School District since 2013, though Lulu has been a school teacher since 2004. Having previously worked in a District without the funding for any type of arts programs, Lulu has a deep appreciation for the integral role Kiddo! plays in the robust educational experience provided by the Mill Valley Schools. A former Division 1 athlete, Lulu is still passionate about moving her body and being outside. When she’s not teaching, you can find her surfing, playing soccer, hiking, and riding her bike to work as much as possible.
Jessica, a choral instructor at MVMS, is also an MVMS Teacher Rep for Kiddo!. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, Jessica began her career teaching elementary classroom and choral music in the East Bay. She began teaching in Mill Valley in 2000. Jessica has built the choirs from the ground up and into a large, award-winning program serving hundreds of students.
In addition to teaching choral music in the schools, Jessica has been a vocal coach, producer, and assistant director for dozens of MVMS musical theater productions. Jessica also founded and directed the 142 Throckmorton teen vocal ensemble, “Throckappella” from 2009-2013. Jessica lives in Richmond with her husband, Jonathan, who is also an active musician in the Bay Area, and their two children.
Jessica grew in Sacramento and has a degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduation, she worked at Oracle for 15 years in technology, customer management and sales. In 2005, Jessica and her husband moved back to California, settling in San Francisco, to be closer to family and to take advantage of all the Bay Area has to offer. After starting a family, Jessica moved to Mill Valley in 2012 with her husband and twins. Since then, she has spent her time volunteering at Strawberry Point Elementary School running their annual Auction, Gala, Mad Dash and serving as a Room Parent. Jessica is excited to bring her event planning experience, energy, work ethic and positive attitude to support Kiddo! and our children.
Tessa grew up in washington DC and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. She later earned her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University. Tessa currently works as a therapist and her expertise is in early childhood mental health. Tessa, her husband Tom, and 3 young children have lived in Mill Valley since June 2020. Her two oldest children attend Old Mill School. Childhood enrichment programs, such as those funded by Kiddo!, are close to Tessa’s heart both professionally and as a parent in the Mill Valley community.
Christina joined the Kiddo! Board in the 2022-23 school year as an Old Mill School Rep.
Amanda is a visual artist who maintains a studio practice in downtown Mill Valley. Born in England and raised in Canada, Amanda moved to Mill Valley with her husband and three children in 2012. She holds a BFA hons from OCAD University, and prior to moving to the US, she worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art Canada. Amanda is passionate about access to arts education for all children
Carolyn grew up in Northern California and graduated from The University of Vermont. She taught elementary and middle school for Boston Public Schools and San Francisco Unified School District for 10 years. In 2011, she began a career with Amplify where she currently manages State wide literacy contracts and implementations in Utah and Colorado. She and her husband, Josh, have two sons who attend Park School. Carolyn is active in supporting her children's school and activities. She frequently volunteers for PTA roles, serves as school room parents, as well as volunteers in recreational activities such as Scott Valley Sea serpents and MVSC.
Bianca is very excited to be a member of the Kiddo! board, fostering the arts, a longstanding keystone value and tradition in this northern California community. She and her husband have two children at Edna McGuire.
Bianca grew up in Bolinas, attended Tamalpais High School, and graduated from the College of Charleston with a BA in Communications, focused on rhetoric and interpersonal communication. While in Charleston, SC she worked at Monarch Development, developing mixed use projects and restoring a historic South Battery home. In 2008 she returned to San Francisco and joined HOK, Inc., supporting the New Doha International Airport team followed by the Managing Partners. Bianca joined Cavalry Asset Management in 2011 supporting the Managing Partner until family demands became a priority.
In her free time, she is on the Bay with her life long hobby, sport, and passion, sailing; competing in west coast regattas monthly.
Shana is in her 19th year of teaching and has been a 1st grade teacher at Edna Maguire for 17 years. She has a 4th grader, Brady, and a 1st grader, Connor currently attending Edna Maguire. She feels so fortunate to be a teacher AND parent in the Mill Valley school district.
Katie, an art instructor for the MVSD, is an MVMS teacher rep for Kiddo!. She has been a teacher with the Mill Valley School District since 2007, and has taught at Old Mill, Edna Maguire, and Mill Valley Middle School. Katie attended School of the Arts High School in San Francisco (now the “Ruth Asawa School of Art”), where she developed her technical skills. She went on to study Art with an emphasis in Painting at University of California Santa Cruz. It was during her time at UCSC that her eyes opened to the world of art, and she learned to use art as her voice. Katie keeps busy raising her twin boys, painting, and making mixed media arts and crafts.
Karen grew up in upstate New York and graduated from Bucknell University. She came to San Francisco for a two-week visit, fell in love with the culture and climate of the Bay Area, and never left. Her career has focused on Creative Services and Brand Management, working for agencies and leading teams at Williams-Sonoma and Minted. Karen has been an active board member of the Edna Maguire PTA, and she is thrilled to support the great work of Kiddo! in her community. She and her husband Carter have two children at Edna.
Current Advisors
Elizabeth Kaufman, Superintendent
Laura Myers, MVSD Director of Curriculum & Student Services
Elli Abdoli, School Board
Natalie Katz, School Board
Em Lieginger, PTA Council President