Board of Directors & Advisory Council

Amy Fox is Director and Head of Legal at Oculus (Facebook). In addition to serving as Board Chair for Challenge Success, Amy is a member of the Board of Directors for Big City Mountaineers, a nonprofit that provides transformative wilderness experiences to under-resourced youth. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, and camping. Amy has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Women’s Studies, and holds a J.D. degree. She is also a Fulbright Scholar. Amy resides in Menlo Park, California, with her husband and their three children.

Lorraine Brown is the Director of Communications and Community Relations at Castilleja School. Prior to this role, Lorraine served as the Associate Director of Admission at Castilleja for seven years. Her business background includes 10 years in marketing and brand management at the Clorox Company. Lorraine served on Boards at the Riekes Center (Marketing & Communications Committee), Palo Alto Babe Ruth Baseball (Treasurer), Palo Alto High School Site Council (President), Duveneck Elementary PTA (President), and the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (Treasurer). She recently completed the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Leadership Palo Alto program. Lorraine earned her B.A. in Economics and holds an M.B.A.; now an empty nester, she lives in Palo Alto with her husband.

Lisa Busby has been an Education Consultant since 2017, after 23 years of serving independent schools on both coasts as an administrator and teacher. From 2014-17, she was the Associate Head of School at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park. This role followed sixteen years at San Francisco Day School, where she was the Director of High School Counseling and Strategic Planning Implementation Coordinator. Lisa has led the development of school programs and strategic initiatives that nurture student health, intrinsic motivation, creativity, and cultural competence. She has counseled 700+ Bay Area families with application processes for 6th grade through college with a focus on balancing academic goals with social-emotional development. Lisa has served on the boards of California Poets in the Schools and The Lobster Theater Project, the latter as Board President. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. 

Andy Chen is an investing partner on Coatue’s early-stage initiative and has been building or investing in startup companies for over a decade. Prior to joining Coatue, Andy was an operating partner at KPCB, where he worked across their venture and growth portfolio and drove the firm’s executive recruiting strategy, advising their entrepreneurs around all areas of human capital. Andy was also responsible for starting the KPCB Fellows Program, a scouting initiative aimed at identifying and investing in the next generation of founders across U.S. universities. Before joining KPCB, Andy was a weapons analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. In this role, he provided intelligence to senior U.S. policymakers, including President Barack Obama. He holds a B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering and applied plasma physics.

Staci Friesel is a native New Yorker and experienced project manager. She holds a degree in Communication and has previously held project management and technology implementation positions at PwC, Chanel Inc. and Gap Inc. Staci has served in numerous leadership positions for Cornell University over the past thirteen years. She is currently the Cornell Alumni Admissions Northern California Chair responsible for Alumni and Applicant engagement and event programming, and she sits on the Cornell Trustee Council and the Cornell Advisory Committee to Admissions. Staci is active in, and supports, many local organizations including the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, the Wender Weis Foundation and Fit Kids. Previously, she volunteered as a member of the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary, the American Heart Association San Francisco Chapter, and the Junior League of Palo Alto/Mid-Peninsula. Staci lives in Atherton, CA with her husband and three young children.

Bev Hartman is the founder and President of The Parent Venture, a nonprofit organization that empowers parents and the community through curated education. She is an adjunct faculty member of Pacific Oaks College. Through Engaged Early Education, Bev consults and facilitates professional development for educators. She was a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Stanford University, and Assistant Director of Bing Nursery School, Stanford, a laboratory school for research and teaching. She was the creator and former Director of The Bing Institute, a national training center for parents and educators. Bev holds a B.A. in Art and Education and an M.A. in Human Development.

Charlene Margot is the founder and CEO of The Parent Venture, a nonprofit organization, and CSM Consulting, an educational consulting firm. Prior to establishing TVP, she founded The Parent Education Series, a leading provider of high-quality parent and community education in Silicon Valley. Charlene began her career in education as a teacher at Bing Nursery School, the research laboratory for the Department of Psychology at Stanford University, and a consultant to IBM in educational software development. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Adolescent Counseling Services, and the Executive Board of the Wellness Advisory Council in the Sequoia Union High School District. Charlene holds a B.A. in Psychology and a Master’s in Education with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Development. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her fiancé and is the mother of two adult children.

Barb Rosston is a consultant for independent schools and non-profit organizations. Her work focuses on strategic planning, development, and governance. She is a former environmental and land use attorney. She also serves on the board of the San Francisco Marin Food Bank and the Ellis School. She is a past board chair of Castilleja School and Keys School, both in Palo Alto. She holds an A.B degree in History and a J.D. degree.

Rachel Skiffer leads Khan Lab School (KLS) in Mountain View, California, an independent school founded by Sal Khan in 2014 that provides an extended-year, mastery-based, mixed-age program for students ages 5-17+. Prior to KLS, Rachel was the Dean of Policy & Strategic Planning at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, and has also worked in admissions and financial aid at San Francisco University High School, the Latin School of Chicago, and Harvard College. She has served as a board member of independent schools on the east and west coasts and is currently a trustee for the Enrollment Management Association. Before Rachel discovered her passion for working in education, she spent time as a management consultant and a commercial real estate attorney. She has an A.B. in Women’s Studies and holds a J.D. A native of San Francisco, Rachel lives in the Bay Area with her husband and their two young children.

Jeff Symonds is the Director of Teaching and Learning and Tukman Distinguished Teacher of English and music at The Branson School in Ross, CA. In his 28 years there, he has worn just about every community hat; most recently, he has helped to design a Shakespeare and Social Justice class that gives students the opportunity to work with inmates at San Quentin, and helped design and write the school’s strategic plan. Jeff is also a musician who has played a gig in 47 of the continental states (apologies to Alabama).

Kelli Tomlinson is a native of California, Kelli Harrington Tomlinson focuses her time in the nonprofit sector as director and co-president of the Tomlinson Family Foundation. She is chair of the Board of Trustees at The Girls’ Middle School, a progressive, STEM-focused girls’ school in Palo Alto, California. Tomlinson also serves on the boards of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Challenge Success, and The Art of Yoga Project. She and her family are partners at the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund. She is a member of the Common Sense Media Bay Area Council and the Peninsula Bridge Parent Advisory Board. Her primary interests include progressive education, education equality, and theater. Tomlinson holds a B.A. in political science and worked as the assistant director of the Trinity in San Francisco Program from 1998 to 2001. She resides in Atherton, California, with her husband and their two children.

Sabrina Braham, MD is a physician at Menlo Clinic in Menlo Park, California, where she also serves as an adjunct clinical instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Sabrina completed her training at Stanford Children’s Hospital (formerly Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital) in 2009 and joined Menlo Clinic Pediatrics in 2011, where she has a busy clinical practice in general pediatrics. She served as PTA chair at Synapse School in Menlo Park for two years and continues to be active in the area of education and learning differences, via both professional affiliations and philanthropic efforts. She lives in Palo Alto with her husband and three children, is an aspiring dog owner, and very much enjoys cooking large family meals and cycling to work.

Elizabeth Gerber received her sales training at Xerox Corporation and was a national director of sales for the ad agency, TMP Worldwide in Chicago. After moving to the Bay Area, she and her husband chose to raise their children in an elementary school without homework, tests, or grades. She served on Marin Montessori School’s Board of Trustees as vice president, chair of the committee on trustees, and chair of the junior high committee, which established the school’s innovative, land-based program designed to nurture the multi-faceted needs of middle school students. She served as a parent representative on the school’s inaugural Challenge Success team as well as completed its parenting course. Her interests include child and adolescent development, psychology, mindfulness, writing, and painting. She lives in Tiburon with her husband, daughter and son.

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD is a pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a director of health services at Covenant House Pennsylvania, a shelter for homeless and marginalized youth. He has written extensively promoting teen health and resilience, including the books Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings and Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love with Expectations and Protection with Trust. He has also produced and edited the multimedia professional toolkit, Reaching Teens: Strength-based Communication Strategies to Build Resilience and Support Healthy Adolescent Development. His definitive memorandum for the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, formed the basis for his congressional testimony in May 2007.

Calla Griffith is a Menlo Park, CA resident and a committed ambassador for the health and well-being of kids in the local community and beyond. She has over 20 years of fundraising and event planning experience, and significant expertise in making an impact in the non-profit sector through building awareness, developing allies, and raising funds for non-profit organizations across the Bay Area Peninsula, including the Children’s Health Council, Menlo Park City School District, and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.

Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann came to Stanford University in 1996. She is the first university chaplain from a tradition other than Christianity in Stanford’s history. In 2001, she was appointed senior associate dean for Religious Life. She teaches and lectures widely on Jewish feminism, rabbinical ethics, the relationship between religion and education, and social justice. Rabbi Karlin-Neumann was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1982. She has been a Hillel director and Jewish chaplain at UCLA and at the Claremont Colleges, a congregational rabbi in Alameda, California, and a regional director for the Union for Reform Judaism, the congregational arm of the Reform Movement. At Stanford, she teaches courses including “Spirituality and Nonviolent Social Transformation” and “Rereading Judaism in Light of Feminism.” She is married and has two children.

Seth Leslie earned masters’ degrees in both management and education. He serves as the chief development officer at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto where he oversees all fundraising and capacity-building initiatives. He has consulted for Bay Area start-ups in the areas of operations, business development, and strategy. Seth was a founder of East Palo Alto Academy High School, where he transitioned from a National Board Certified math teacher to assistant principal over a 14-year career. He serves on the boards of Camp Tawonga and Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, where he offers expertise in development and fundraising. He previously served on the boards of Wilderness Torah, Glow Foundation, John Gardner Center for Youth and Communities, and the Tech Museum of Innovation.

Alex Lockett is the dean of students at San Francisco University High School where she has worked since 2004. During her tenure as dean, Alex led the founding of the school’s mentoring program, which has received national attention for its innovative approach. A lifelong native of independent schools, Alex is motivated by the desire to help students bring their whole selves to school and to help teachers feel equipped to respond to the needs of their students. Alex enjoys studying systems and holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and an MBA. She lives in Oakland with her husband and her one-year old son.

Meredith Pasquesi earned a BS in Biological Sciences and an MBA. For 17 years she worked in the investment management business. Meredith was a managing director at The Investment Fund for Foundations (“TIFF”) and managed private equity investments for non-profit institutions and family foundations. Meredith is interested in education and has worked as a volunteer and board member at the various schools her children have attended in the US and overseas. She lives in Woodside, CA with her husband and two children. Meredith enjoys travel adventures with her family, hiking, and yoga.

Carole Pertofsky is the director of Stanford’s Wellness and Health Promotion Services. She develops and oversees courses and programs related to health and wellness. Her areas of expertise are positive psychology, happiness and well-being, and resilience. She co-founded and teaches Stanford’s first Psychology of Happiness course as well as workshops related to the art and science of compassion, emotional intelligence, work/life balance, and stress management. Carole has served as a Challenge Success advisor since its inception and is also the co-founder of the Spiritual Tools for Healing Center, a cancer survivors’ support network in the East Bay. She is also interested in women’s health issues and is featured in the award-winning documentary that focuses on women and aging, Let’s Face It: Women Explore Their Aging Faces. Carole is a professional consultant, leadership coach, national speaker, and seminar leader at Stanford, the Esalen Institute, Stanford Continuing Studies, UC Berkeley, Women’s Healthy Living Retreat, and coaching associations. She is the recipient of a number of grants and awards, including the Stanford University Margaret Ann Fidler award for exceptional service to the Stanford campus.

Eva Price has an MS in traditional Chinese medicine and a BS in business administration. For ten years, she worked in private equity at Texas Pacific Group and Aqua International Partners. She is also a certified Bikram yoga instructor. Eva is co-owner of Three Sticks Winery, where she enjoys blending the wines with her husband and co-hosting wine events. Eva’s philanthropic focus is on women, education, the environment, health, and medical research. She is also a board member of the DaVita Foundation and the Catrinka Project. Eva lives in Belvedere, CA with her husband and daughter. She enjoys hiking, yoga, cycling, surfing, travel, and cooking.

Garry A. Rayant is a dental specialist in periodontics and implant dentistry and an entrepreneur. He practices part-time in San Francisco. Garry is the editor-in-chief and a partner in Dear Doctor Magazine Inc., a print and online national consumer healthcare magazine. He also sits on the board of Rodan & Fields. He has a master’s degree in behavioral science and has been active in post-graduate dental education. He served as a member of the parent education committee at Marin Academy High School and was a prior chair at Marin Primary & Middle School. He has been engaged in K-12 and college level educational, professional and parent development, and reform. He is involved in a number of Bay Area, national, and international causes and charities. Garry is married and has two sons.

Rebecca Sacerdoti is a Ph.D. level clinical psychologist trained in both clinical practice and research methods. She has significant clinical experience working with adults, couples, teenagers and children in a variety of settings, including private practice, agency work, and in schools. Her research experience stems from time spent as a Project Director in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University, and has also spent significant time working with cancer survivors at Mount Zion Hospital and through extensive doctorate research. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Brad Sachs, PhD is a psychologist, educator, consultant, lecturer, and best-selling author specializing in clinical work with children, adolescents, couples, and families. He is the founder and director of The Father Center, a program designed to meet the needs of new, expectant, and experienced fathers. He has published numerous books and articles for both professional and lay readers, including The Good Enough Child: How to Have an Imperfect Family and Be Perfectly Satisfied and Family Centered Treatment with Struggling Young Adults. Brad is also a published poet, composer, and performer. He recently released Hard Tales to Tell, a cycle of sixteen original songs based on stories his patients have told him and has a forthcoming book of poetry, Why Am I Telling You This? And Other Poems From Psychotherapy.