Leadership is governed by an all volunteer Board. The Board consists of community, business, and educational leaders, as well as representatives from the staff, the Parent Association, the Alumni Association, and the current student body. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the fiduciary oversight of the organization, for the hiring and evaluation of the Principal, and for fundraising.
In addition, Leadership benefits from the guidance of select community leaders who serve as Advisory Board members.
Ninive Clements Calegari
Ninive Clements Calegari is the CEO of 826 National and the founding executive director of 826 Valencia where she also serves on the board of directors. 826 Valencia and the six related locations of 826 National are a group of non-profit writing centers for students ages 8-18. Ms. Calegari is a veteran public school teacher who has had ten years of classroom experience. Before teaching in her family's hometown in Mexico, Ms. Calegari worked at Leadership High School, San Francisco's first charter school, where she also served on the Board of Directors.
Calegari is coauthor with Dave Eggers and Daniel Moulthrop of Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers (The New Press, 2005), which argues that increasing teachers' salaries is a critical piece to meaningful school reform and essential to making sure that our students consistently get the quality teachers they deserve. In 2007, Calegari received Edutopia's 2007 Daring Dozen award. She has been the recipient of an NEH Fellowship, the William Coe Award for study at Stanford and the Andrew Mellon Fellowship. She holds a Masters in Teaching and Curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Jennifer Chapman
Jennifer Chapman is Chief Operating Officer at Wild Planet Toys, Inc, a company dedicated to creating quality products that spark the imagination and provide positive play experiences for children. Her responsibilities include oversight of Operations as well as Human Resources and Organizational Development. Prior to joining Wild Planet in 1998, Ms. Chapman worked and traveled extensively in Asia during the 1980s, including stints as a teacher in China and Indonesia. Jennifer was founding Board Chair of Leadership High School, a charter school in San Francisco. She also served as Vice President of Social Venture Network from 1994-1998 and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Social Ventures Network.
Henry Der
For more than 20 years, Henry Der has advocated for equal opportunities in education, employment, voting rights and access to services for Asian Americans and other racial minorities and immigrants. As a senior program officer for the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private family foundation, Mr. Der led the Fund's efforts in supporting nonprofit groups that advocate for immigrant rights and reform. He also pursued the Fund's exploratory work on racial equity and worked to close the education achievement gap among minority students.
Mr. Der also served as state administrator for the Emery Unified School District and deputy superintendent of public instruction for the California Department of Education. His commitment to seeking equality for minorities at all levels has been demonstrated through his service with many organizations, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, for which he served as the executive director from 1974 to 1996; the National Coalition for an Accurate Count of Asian and Pacific Americans, which he co-founded in 1986 to advocate a more accurate count by the Census Bureau of Asian and Pacific Islander groups; California Postsecondary Education Commission, which he chaired; and the Greenlining Coalition and Greenlining Institute to improve the quality of life for low-income and minority communities.
Der is the recipient of the 1984 San Francisco Foundation Robert C. Kirkwood Award for exemplary community service, the 1988 Edison Uno JACL Civil Rights Leadership Award and the 1991 National Education Association's Ellison Onizuka Memorial Award for human and civil rights leadership.
Delaine Eastin
Currently, Delaine Eastin is Visiting Professor of Educational Leadership at Mills College. Prior to that, from 1994 to 1998, she served as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the highest-ranking official in California's elementary and secondary public school system and the first woman to be elected State Superintendent. Eastin started her career as a teacher. She taught political science at several California community colleges. After seven years of teaching, she joined Pacific Bell where, as a corporate strategic planner, she helped the company recast itself in response to the breakup of the phone system.
In 1980, she was elected to the Union City Council and later, in 1986, joined the California Assembly, where she authored bills to improve schools and education, increase use of recycled materials, improve transportation systems, and crack down on unlicensed contractors. As Chair of the California Assembly Education Committee, she authored and shaped legislation to reform California's public schools in order to make the state economically competitive. Her legislation has included bills creating charter schools, promoting parental involvement, enhancing school safety, and reducing the bureaucratic hurdles for approval of new school construction.
She received "Legislator of the Year" awards from the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, the California School Boards Association, the California Teacher's Association and the California Media Library Educators Association. The California Congress of the PTA and the American Electronics Association also have recognized Eastin for her efforts on behalf of children.
Cristina Valdez
As a long-time advocate for children and youth, Cristina Valdez has worked to enhance educational opportunities for youth typically marginalized and underserved. Her commitment to supporting education equity has been evident in her work, from direct service for youth to advocating policy changes at the state level and in her current work as Director of Policy and Professional Development/SF Education Fund. Earlier in her career, as a Program Director at Latino Issues Forum (LIF), she lobbied state legislators to provide greater access to California‘s public colleges and universities for historically underserved communities. She conducted research for a publication by California Tomorrow on Multicultural Curricula, and has worked with youth in the Mission District of San Francisco to provide mentorship and leadership development programs through the YWCA Mission Girls Services and Coleman Advocate's Youth Making a Change Program (YMAC). In 1995 she was recruited to launch and direct the Cross Cultural Environmental Leadership Program (XCEL), sponsored by Audubon Canyon Ranch and located at San Rafael High School. The program successfully engaged youth primarily from the Canal Area of San Rafael and Marin City in learning about natural science and environmental justice. In 2003, after years of planning and collaboration with educators and a creative design team, she opened the Cross Cultural Environmental Leadership (XCEL) Academy, a college-prep charter high school in San Francisco designed to further engage students in natural science and environmental justice while preparing them for leadership.
Manuel Alvarez, Jr., is a lawyer in the offices of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, San Francisco. He graduated in 2007 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. At Hastings, he was co-president of the La Raza Law Student Association and co-president of the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division Business Litigation Committee. He has served as an intern or clerk in the following offices: East Bay Municipal Utility District, Office of General Counsel, Oakland; Hon. Charles Breyer, United States District Court, San Francisco; U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of California, San Francisco; and Hon. Susan Illston, United States District Court, San Francisco. He has a bachelor’s degree cum laude with honors in English and film studies from Cornell University.
Prisca Cheng, Alternate Student Representative, is an eleventh grader at LHS, serves as the alternate for the Student Representative position on the Board. Prisca works as an Ambassador for the school and is regularly one of the first to volunteer to help out at school. In fact, she spends so much time at LHS, that some have wondered if she goes home at night.
Marisela Cerda, Staff Representative, is Leadership’s biology teacher. She is also the Head Coach for the school’s volleyball team. She holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Plant Biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and a California Teaching Credential from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Marisela Cerda is currently working on a Master's of Arts degree in Organizational Psychology from Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. She will be applying for the doctoral program in Organizational Psychology in the Spring of 2008. Marisela Cerda is currently a National Board Certification Candidate in Biology; the process will improve her teaching skills, classroom management, and curriculum. She enjoys playing classical guitar, gardening, drawing, meditating, and camping.
Jonathan Dearman, Vice-Chair, is the Executive Vice President, responsible for sales and marketing, of HSM. He services and oversees the real estate sales department as the lead Real Estate Consultant. He has his California Real Estate Broker’s license with 15 years experience in real estate sales and finance.
Prior to becoming the Lead Real Estate Consultant at HSM, Jonathan worked as a high school teacher and department coach for Leadership High School in San Francisco. While there he developed the Leadership curriculum for the four-year program in the school, managed and supervised other teachers in the department and worked with the administration in hiring and coordinating with outside agencies. His work as an educator provides the perfect foundation for the first time homebuyer and educational work that is done by HSM. This has been the cornerstone of his work as a real estate consultant.
David Donahue, Secretary, is Associate Professor of Education at Mills College, Oakland, California, where he works with students in the secondary teacher credential program and educational leadership doctoral program. Previously, he was the director of Mills College’s service learning program. He has worked with Amnesty International’s Human Rights Education program and the Equitas International Centre for Human Rights Education over the past 15 years, developing and leading training programs on human rights for teachers and activists in the U.S., Canada, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. His research interests include teacher learning generally and learning focused on community service, reading, and the arts specifically.
Seewan Eng, Chair, is a research associate for WestEd's Innovation Studies Program, conducting research and writing a series of widely disseminated guides for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII). Through this work, she highlights promising practices in school reform related to expanding school choice, including charter schools, parental involvement, distance learning, and magnet school programs. Seewan works with a team to disseminate research among state, district, and school organizations.
Seewan brings nine years of teaching experience to her education research. She started teaching at the Francis W. Parker Essential Charter School in Massachusetts, now a mentor school in the Coalition of Essential Schools. She also was a humanities teacher at San Francisco Community K-8, a public, teacher-run school (2001-06) and at Leadership High School (1999-2001). In 2002, her seventh-grade classroom was featured in Learning In Deed, a video and book by the National Commission on Service Learning. Seewan received a BA in educational studies and American history from Brown University, where she was presented with the Elmer R. Smith Award for her undergraduate thesis; an MEd from Harvard University; and National Board Certification.
Ellery Fink was elected to the LHS board in 2005. She is currently the operations manager and regional director for Adventures Cross-Country, an adventure travel program for teenagers. She holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ellery likes to spend as much time as possible outside, usually biking, hiking, swimming, or hanging out in the park.
Michelle Florendo is a bay area native who has chosen never to stray far from the communities she is connected to. She is a marketing professional with experience in corporate, consulting, and start-up settings. Prior to her career in marketing, she spent her summers teaching, tutoring, and mentoring high school students. Her passion for education stems from her own experience growing up in the California public school system. Michelle earned her B.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and will begin her MBA studies at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business in fall of 2008.
Karen Heys, Treasurer, currently serves as the Senior Director of Training and Consulting Services at Youth Leadership Institute. She develops and facilitates trainings around the country to promote healthier communities for youth. She also has five years experience working in high schools both as a Science and Math teacher and an Adminsitrator. She helped design and open a charter school in San Francisco, and holds a Master's of Teaching degree.
Loran Simon, Alumni Representative, is a native of San Francisco, California. He attended the best of San Francisco’s schools, including; Cathedral School for Boys, and Leadership High School, and is currently attending University of San Francisco School of Law. Loran graduated cum laude from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, receiving the Department of Political Science Chair’s Award. At SF State he was the Vice President of the University’s Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. In 2003 he was selected by Warner Bros. Television Network as an actor, producing, writing and acting in public service commercials addressing the needs of young people. Loran is an advisory board member for many organizations, including, KQED (San Francisco’s PBS affiliate) and The California Foundation. He graduated with honors from Leadership High School in 2003.
Cliff Staton was First drawn to politics through the anti-nuclear movement in the late 1970s, Cliff Staton has channeled his interests in environmental, education and social justice issues to become one of California’s leading direct mail and media relations strategists – crafting winning campaign messages for hundreds of candidates, non-profit organizations, public libraries and labor unions.
Since founding Staton Hughes in 1989, Cliff devised the successful national media and political strategy for the Screen Actors Guild in their 2000 commercial contract strike; helped design Delaine Eastin’s campaign to become California’s first woman superintendent of public schools (1994 and 1998); managed the media relations efforts for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (1995) and the 50th Anniversary of the US-Japan Peace Treaty (2001); and wrote and produced direct mail to help pro-choice Democrats take five swing Congressional seats from Republicans.
Prior to establishing the firm, Staton was Editorial Director and Vice President of The Kamber Group, then Washington DC’s largest independent public relations firm. His principal clients included the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Communications Workers of America and the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.
Staton received his Master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and completed his undergraduate work at Indiana University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Elizabeth Ozer and their three children.
Brittanny Tucker, Student Primary Representative, is a junior at LHS. She has served as an ambassdor since her ninth grade year, plays on the varsity volleyball team, and is a stellar student. In addition to being active in the LHS community, Brittanny is also active in her church.
Mike Vincent is a Consulting Analyst at Accenture LLP, where he primarily implements Customer Relationship Management applications and drives Change Management efforts. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Santa Clara University, where he majored in Finance and concentrated in Marketing and Retail Studies. At Santa Clara, Mike was a member of the Education for a Sustainable Future living community, the Santa Clara Community Action Program and two national honor societies: Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Sigma Nu. He also served as the Vice President of the Retail Studies Student Association. In his free time, Mike enjoys traveling with friends, playing sports and volunteering with his company (Accenture) and local organizations such as Hands on Bay Area and One Brick. His true passion lies in providing equal educational opportunities to all youth and hopes to help establish and build charter schools dedicated to this goal.
Ian Walker, winner of the International Larry Corse Prize, the John Golden Prize, and a Bay One-Acts Festival Award for Best Play, has worked as a professional actor, director, designer, and playwright for the past 19 years. From 1993 to 1994, Mr. Walker worked as an educational script writer for the West Oakland Health Center's video project. In 1998, The Actor's Collective produced the world premiere of Mr. Walker's first play, Killing Time, at the Exit Theatre in San Francisco. During the same year, his screenplay, Under a White Paradise, was purchased by Idyllwild Productions, Inc., an independent film company. Subsequent plays have been performed by The Actor's Collective, Second Wind Productions, Luna Stage, Columbus University, Three Wise Monkeys, Theatre Inspirato (Toronto), The Deptford Players, and Theaterfest among others. He is the winner of the 2006 international Larry Corse Prize, the 2000 John Golden Prize, a 2006 Bay One-Acts Festival Award for Best Play, and three Best of Fringe, San Francisco, awards. In 1996, he was awarded a Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Sound Design for his work on TheatreWork's Blues for an Alabama Sky. His original plays include Meadowland, Black Lies, Vigilance, Ghost in the Light, The Stone Trilogy, A Beautiful Home for the Incurable, and The Gravedigger's Tango.
Brian Williams focuses on understanding and offering people hope in order to fulfill their dreams is a way each and every one of us can give back to our communities. Brian Williams is a dedicated human resources professional and utilizes his broad experience to enhance the lives of others. In 1991, Brian graduated from the Miami University Oxford, OH and was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy submarine fleet. Since that time, Brian has held many leadership positions in the financial services and healthcare industries where he has been a major team contributor. He has served on various boards and community involvement initiatives.
Pei-Yee Woo is the Development Communications Manager for Yosemite National Institutes, an environmental education nonprofit dedicated to providing science and environmental education in nature's classroom and inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders. Prior to working in development and fundraising, she ran a community-based environmental education programs focused on teacher professional development and youth leadership. She is passionate about empowering young people to be leaders in the environmental movement, creating accessibility for English Language Learners in environmental education, and using environmental education as an interdisciplinary vehicle for holistic learning in today's classrooms. Pei-Yee graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College with a degree in Visual Arts and Art History and received her M.A. in Teaching from the University of San Francisco.