LGEF Staff, Board, and Volunteers
LGEF succeeds due to the talent and effort of many dedicated individuals,
including both school parents and community members.
LGEF succeeds due to the talent and effort of many dedicated individuals,
including both school parents and community members.
LGEF Staff
LGEF staff keep the organization running and ensure continuity from year to year.
LGEF staff keep the organization running and ensure continuity from year to year.
Executive Director & VP Fundraising | Sonja Tappan
Sonja is excited to be the Executive Director of the Education Foundation. Her past profressional experience as a Director of Administration, Operations Manager, and Education Foundation Executive Director make her uniquly suited to be our Executuive Director as of April, 2024. She is enthusiastic about providing students with the best education possible and maximizing the scope of enrichment opportunities for all students. Sonja has spent most of her adult life in service to the commuinty serving as School Site Council member, Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce, Secretary of the Samaritan House, and honored by the PTA for several volunteer awards. She loves planning and attending events that feature our students thriving while exploring their interests. Sonja beleives all children deserve a great education and it takes a whole community to ensure we provide them the tools to be life long learners. Let's invest in our children together as One Community LG!
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LGEF Finance Operations Manager | Karin Luton
Karin is in her third year as the LGEF Finance Operations Manager. She and her husband have a daughter at Los Gatos High School and one in college. Karin has previously volunteered for the Daves Home & School Club and Fisher Site Council in various roles She is excited to continue to serve the community that welcomed her family when they moved from Seattle eight years ago.
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LGEF Board
The LGEF board are Los Gatos parent volunteers who care about ensuring the highest quality education for our children.
The LGEF board are Los Gatos parent volunteers who care about ensuring the highest quality education for our children.
President | Jessica Johnson
This is Jessica's seventh year on the LGEF Board and her first year as our board President. Jessica has one boy at Fisher Middle School in 6th grade, another at Los Gatos High School in 9th grade, and a four year old boy who is a future LGUSD student. She stays active with a busy professional life as CEO of a successful business and also helping middle schoolers with special needs be more successful in their school environment. She enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering in the community. Jessica is also on the Fisher School Advisory Council, a VP on the btc Board, a past Treasurer of the Daves Ave Home & School Club, past Chair of the Daves Ave Auction, and a sustaining member of Junior League of San Jose.
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Parliamentarian | Eric Dunstan
Eric is in his 10th year with the organization, having formerly served as President for the past two years.He and his wife, Dee Dee, have one son in 7th grade at Fisher and another son who is a sophomore at Los Gatos High School. Eric is a realtor and a founding member of the Dean's List of Real Estate Partners program and has managed its growth each year. Eric is excited to continue leading the organization as Parliamentarian to ensure our children receive a well-rounded education including arts, science and music.
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Co-Treasurer/Finance | Beth Jackson
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Co-Treasurer/Finance | Amanda Sullins
Amanda is currently serving her second year as Co-Treasurer for LGEF, leveraging over 25 years of expertise as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Her professional background spans both public accounting and corporate finance, where she has cultivated a deep understanding of financial strategy and operational excellence. Amanda and her husband are parents to two energetic boys attending Louise Van Meter.
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Secretary | Beth Stark
Beth is in her fourth year on the LGEF Board as Secretary after spending many years leading the board of the Lexington Home & School Club. She has three children, one of whom is a student at Fisher and two at Los Gatos High.
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VP Business Development | Alexis Barnickel
A dedicated and long-serving board member in her 8th year, Alexis leads the effort to engage our local business and real estate community to support our schools. Her dedication has resulted in not only meeting but exceeding fund raising goals each year. She has also played a large part in some of the Los Gatos school auctions. Alexis has two students at Daves Avenue where she is Co Vice President of the Home and School Club.
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VP LGUSD Initiatives | Sarah May
Sarah is new to the LGEF board and is in her second year serving as Secretary for the Van Meter Home & School Club. She has two kids at Van Meter - a son in 3rd grade and a daughter in 1st. Sarah and her husband, Josh, - who is from Los Gatos - moved here from Philadelphia about four years ago. Professionally, Sarah consults to nonprofit organizations around talent recruitment, team management and culture, fundraising, and board relations.
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Grant Research / Blossom Hill Captain | Will Schmidt
Will is in his third year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Nika, have two children in the district - a son in fifth grade at Blossom Hill and a daughter in eighth grade at Fisher. Professionally, Will is a Mechanical Design Engineer for Apple. He is heavily involved in Los Gatos youth sports as the girls director and coach for Red Hawks Lacrosse Club, and as a coach of many years in rec soccer for Los Gatos United and for baseball with Los Gatos Little League.
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Innovation Grants | Doug Gregor
Doug is in his fourth year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Amy, have daughters in third grade at Blossom Hill and sixth grade at Fisher. Professionally, Doug is a software engineer working to make coding more fun and more accessible. Doug is interested in the thoughtful integration of science, technology, and innovation throughout our children's education. On Team LGEF, Doug will focus on encouraging teacher participation in our Innovation Grants program.
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Grant Research / Blossom Hill Captain | Will Schmidt
Will is in his third year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Nika, have two children in the district - a son in fifth grade at Blossom Hill and a daughter in eighth grade at Fisher. Professionally, Will is a Mechanical Design Engineer for Apple. He is heavily involved in Los Gatos youth sports as the girls director and coach for Red Hawks Lacrosse Club, and as a coach of many years in rec soccer for Los Gatos United and for baseball with Los Gatos Little League.
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One Community LG Campaign Chairperson | Jennifer Shapiro
Jennifer is in her third year on the LGEF board. She and her husband Michael have twin boys in eighth grader at Fisher. Jennifer has served as the One Community LG Campaign Chair since 2021 and was the Blossom Hill Home & School Club President from 2019-2021. Jennifer joined the LGEF board to continue to foster the strong relationship between the One Community LG Campaign, the Home & School Clubs, and LGEF.
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VP Marketing | Emily Baratzadeh
Emily is in her first year on the LGEF board. She and her husband Kia have a daughter heading into second grade at Van Meter and a son who will join her next year. Emily is a local realtor and also serves as the fundraising co-chair at the Van Meter Home & School Club. Emily joined the LGEF board because she is passionate about Los Gatos and feels that a strong education system is the key to a thriving community.
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Marketing Program Manager | Jim Hamilton
Jim is in his second year on the LGEF board. He and his wife have lived in Los Gatos for seven years and have four children. Their twin adult boys are pursuing careers, their daughter is at Fisher and their youngest son is at Van Meter. Jim is also active in Los Gatos Little League baseball as a coach. He has worked as a program manager in the tech industry throughout his career and is currently working at a startup.
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Events / Van Meter Captain | Hillari Zighelboim
This is Hillari's third year on the LGEF board and is Co-Captain at Van Meter. Hillari and her husband Andy cherish living and raising a family in the Los Gatos community, and their 3 boys attend Van Meter and Fisher. In addition to her role with LGEF, Hillari is currently President of the Home & School Club at Van Meter. Hillari is also a small business owner in the digital wellness space. Her company, Unplug Revolution, inspires people to take conscious breaks from technology and connect with people and the world around them.
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Major Donor Engagement | Janelle Winterhoff
Janelle is joining the LGEF board this year to lead our efforts with private donors. She has a first grade son at Daves Elementary and a daughter who just completed her first year at the University of Oregon. She has a longstanding passion for building and investing in resources and infrastructure to maximize the potential of children. She is a Marketing Executive with over 20 years of experience working at Fortune 500 companies and enjoys traveling, cooking, Pilates and serving her community! We are excited to bring Janelle’s skills and passion to the LGEF board.
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LGUSD Liaisons to LGEF
We are grateful for the full, ongoing support of the Los Gatos Union School District Superintendent and members of the Board of Trustees who attend LGEF board meetings and assist us in setting our direction.
We are grateful for the full, ongoing support of the Los Gatos Union School District Superintendent and members of the Board of Trustees who attend LGEF board meetings and assist us in setting our direction.
LGUSD Board of Trustees | Peter Noymer
A member of the LGUSD Board of Trustees, Peter has lived in Los Gatos with his family since 2003. He and his wife have three children who had amazing experiences at Van Meter and Fisher.
You can read more about Peter here |
LGUSD Board of Trustees | Courtney Monk
A member of the LGUSD Board of Trustees, Courtney has focused her career on improving educational outcomes and opportunities for students from all backgrounds. She and her husband have two children attending LGUSD schools.
You can read more about Courtney here |
LGEF Teacher Advisory Council
The ongoing advice and advocacy of the LGEF Teacher Advisory Council is essential to accomplishing our mission of supporting teachers and staff. We thank all our council members for their service.
Holly Benjamin
Mark Fanderl
Shelley Gage
Julia Lombardi
Fran Mastroianni
Julie Young
The ongoing advice and advocacy of the LGEF Teacher Advisory Council is essential to accomplishing our mission of supporting teachers and staff. We thank all our council members for their service.
Holly Benjamin
Mark Fanderl
Shelley Gage
Julia Lombardi
Fran Mastroianni
Julie Young
LGEF Volunteers
The LGEF board would like to thank the many volunteers who have chosen to help our students, contributing their valuable time to LGEF during the current school year. These volunteers are parents, staff, and other community members. They assist in a wide range of areas such as driving our vehicle in the holiday parade, business development, the LGEF Finance committee, developing video or photos, or representing LGEF to a grade level at a particular school.
Thank you LGEF Volunteers!
Your efforts are important and appreciated.
Karen Briones
Carrie Dean
Kate Ferguson
Andrew Ferguson
Maria Gerst
Kate Gude
Chris Giordano
Sarah Johnston
John Kuntzmann
Dorice Piraino-Sharp
Alex Potts
Kim Richman
Ryan Rosenberg
Kim Simon
Michelle Strachan
The LGEF board would like to thank the many volunteers who have chosen to help our students, contributing their valuable time to LGEF during the current school year. These volunteers are parents, staff, and other community members. They assist in a wide range of areas such as driving our vehicle in the holiday parade, business development, the LGEF Finance committee, developing video or photos, or representing LGEF to a grade level at a particular school.
Thank you LGEF Volunteers!
Your efforts are important and appreciated.
Karen Briones
Carrie Dean
Kate Ferguson
Andrew Ferguson
Maria Gerst
Kate Gude
Chris Giordano
Sarah Johnston
John Kuntzmann
Dorice Piraino-Sharp
Alex Potts
Kim Richman
Ryan Rosenberg
Kim Simon
Michelle Strachan
Tax Information for Contributions to One Community LG
17010 Roberts Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Tax I.D. #: 94-2874929
17010 Roberts Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Tax I.D. #: 94-2874929