Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

Park Day’s Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and stewardship of the school.  Board members are fiduciaries who steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure Park Day has adequate resources to advance its mission.

The Board strives to reflect our diversity community consistent with the stated mission of the school, and is made up of between 17 to 23 trustees. Requests for nominees are solicited from the community and comprise parents, staff, and community members who bring particular expertise and perspective. The Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees selects candidates based on a set of specific criteria and presents a slate to the full Board for election in the spring. Officers of the Board are elected by the full Board each year.

Monthly board meetings are open to the school community. Contact Board Chair, Akeel Williams, with any comments or questions at: akeel.williams@parkdayboard.org.

Rhea Bailey

Rhea Bailey

Rhea Bailey, MPH is a public health advocate, trainer, and convener who partners with teams to provide training and coaching in trauma informed practice, coalition and partnership building, meaningful community engagement, and organizational healing. She is the Principal of a consulting agency, Radical Joy Consulting. Rhea partners with social service and social change organizations to achieve their missions and the collective vision of joy, liberation, healing and equity for all. Rhea also is an avid ceramicist and photographer. But her greatest source of joy and inspiration comes from her husband, Eric, and two children, August (Park Day 6th grader) and Paloma (9th grader at Bishop O’Dowd).

Elizabeth Burr

Elizabeth Burr

Over 30 years, Elizabeth has worked as an educator, researcher, and policy analyst to advance equitable opportunities and promote positive outcomes for all children. Her research also has focused on policies related to multilingual learners, a highly diverse group of children who bring a wealth of linguistic and cultural assets that enrich our schools. Elizabeth’s daughter graduated from Park Day in 2019, where she experienced affirming, inclusive, engaging, intellectually rich, creative, and joyful teaching and learning that prepared her to thrive in high school and college.

Jennifer Cooper

Brian Douglas

Yolanda Hippensteele

Yolanda Hippensteele

Yolanda Hippensteele dreams of a world where all people and all of nature are treated as precious and worthy of our care. Her career spans over two decades of work with organizations in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to design and implement visionary programs for transformative social change. In particular, Yolanda has expertise in grassroots organizing and social movements, narrative and cultural strategies to support social change, and the role of media in society and democracy. She is mom to a fifth grader at Park and is grateful to be part of a school community that nurtures our children’s whole selves and prepares them to try to make a difference in the world.

Jennifer Hoggatt

Jennifer Hoggatt

Prior to joining Park Day School in 2018, Jen taught middle school English at a progressive, independent school in San Francisco. She also taught upper elementary grades for many years at a private school on the Peninsula. Jen comes to us with a B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development from San Francisco State University, and an M.A. in Education & Teaching with a C.L.A.D. Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, both from USF. Jen is committed to helping students become successful, lifelong learners who are eager to identify as writers, read for pleasure, and contribute to their community. She especially enjoys supporting students as they travel, change, and explore these adolescent years. Her classes place an emphasis on critical thinking, skill building, and conversation. By pushing in these directions, Jen’s students leave the classroom with a greater appreciation and respect for all forms of text, themselves, each other, and our global communities. In her free time, Jen enjoys practicing yoga, traveling with her partner, reading, gardening, and discovering new eateries in the East Bay. She recently moved to Alameda and loves taking her pup on long walks around the island.

Kate Jessup

Kate Jessup

Kate is a grant writer and development consultant with a second grader at Park Day School. Kate’s clients include education and child welfare organizations such as Dolores Huerta Foundation, Child Care Law Center, the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators, and the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings. Kate holds a masters in journalism from UC Berkeley where she studied with writer Michael Pollan, and BA in English from Barnard College. Kate is also a food writer and chef who trained at Chez Panisse and in New York and France. She enjoys cooking and hosting in her North Berkeley home with her daughter Clarice and husband Igor.

Karlton McMeans

Karlton McMeans

Karlton McMeans is a Park Day parent to a 3rd Grader. Karlton holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master’s of Business Administration with a strategic leadership concentration. He is currently a program manager in the National Facilities Services division of Kaiser Permanente that oversees the management of plant maintenance (construction) for a large capital investment portfolio in Northern California. As a Six Sigma Black Belt, Karlton also analyzes and develops processes to improve or exceed established organizational goals. Karlton is in the final stages of completing a Doctorate in Business Administration conducting research on how to develop better Healthcare Capital Investment Strategies while providing a high standard of care. He also serves as the Equity Inclusion and Diversity Co-chair for the enterprise division. When he is not working or studying, you can find him exercising and spending time with family and friends.

Doug Moore

Doug Moore

I am a parent of a current Park Day student. My wife and Daughter live in Oakland. I have worked in construction for over 25 year with 15 of those years as an Project Superintendent for a General Contractor in the Bay Area.

Alli Moreno

Alli Moreno

Alli’s professional and personal life are as consistent as possible with her strong values of empathy, connection, and service. She really, really likes her two daughters and feels lucky to be a supportive mom to them and partner to their dad. Alli co-created The Lay Counselor Academy, which aims to create a new pathway for folks to become mental health counselors–a pathway that increases equity in the field and access for those who need care. She feels best about life when her efforts make a meaningful impact on others. Alli loves to swim and might get you to join her at Temescal Pool or in the Bay. She coaches Special Olympics swim, girls softball, deeply appreciates people’s uniqueness, and loves quality time with family, friends, and animals.

Brandon Panepinto

Brandon Panepinto

Brandon is a Product Management leader at Gap Inc supporting technology within a family of global brands including Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy. He was born and raised in New Orleans, LA where he attended college and has lived in Oakland with his wife, Kelli, since 2007. Brandon is a parent of an amazing Park Day School student, Lula, and loves the neighborhood family walk to and from school. In his spare time, Brandon loves spending time with family in Nevada City exploring the lakes and terrains of “gold country”.

Cate Parkin

Cate Parkin

Cate is a parent of one current and one future Park Day student and an Alameda resident. She credits her mother, a public school history teacher who pushed the boundaries with her curriculum and always encouraged her children and students to learn beyond the books, for her passion for progressive education. Cate was born and raised in Central Illinois and received her bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois. She currently works as a Vice President of Sales at Clorox, where she has worked since college in a wide variety of roles.

Paul Rendón

Paul Rendón

Paul has taught at Park Day for 6 years. He has 20+ total years of teaching experience gained in both public and private schools. He has a Master of Arts degree from San Francisco State in Education with a special emphasis on multicultural education. He also earned a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with CLAD Certification (Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development) from San Francisco State and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences, with a minor in Ethnic Studies, from UC Berkeley.

Paul values staying updated on the best practices to reach and teach his students, and he has completed professional development with organizations such as People of Color in Independent School (POCIS), California Teacher Development Collaborative (CATDC), Nature Bridge, the California Institute of Biodiversity, Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute, and the East Bay Regional Parks. Paul has an early background in film and video production, working on numerous projects including co-producing an award-winning documentary. Because of this experience, he consistently uses various media as educational tools to reach students.

Over his education career, he has garnered classroom grants totaling over $40,000 for projects and field trips. He has received several awards from various entities including the City of San Francisco Department of the Environment and the State of California Assembly. He is a member of the California Historical Society, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, and Phi Delta Kappa Association.

Born in Sacramento, CA, Paul grew up in Washington, DC, and graduated high school from Georgetown Preparatory School. He still lives in his college town of Berkeley, CA.

Manisha Patel

Geoffrey Robb

Geoffrey Robb

Geoff and his wife, JoAnne, are the parents of three children who have attended Park Day, including Benjamin, Jake and most recently Kaila (’22). They have lived in Oakland since 1996. Geoff was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, received his BA in East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut (’82), and, after living and working in Taiwan and China, received his JD from UC Hastings (’87). Geoff has specialized in the practice of maritime and transportation law since 1987. He started his own firm (Gibson Robb and Lindh LLP) in San Francisco in 1996, which recently moved Emeryville. Geoff’s interests outside a demanding work and rich family life include cycling, open water swimming, science reads, barbequing, and walking about in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Noah Rosenthal

Noah Rosenthal

Noah is the parent of a Park Day School second grader and two little ones who have not yet reached school age.  He is also a graduate of Park Day School (1990!).  Professionally, Noah is a Risk Management Attorney at the law firm of Fenwick & West LLP, where he represents the firm on a wide variety of risk management, legal ethics and conflicts-of-interest matters.  Previously, Noah worked in private practice representing lawyers and law firms on matters of risk management, legal ethics, and legal malpractice.  He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and U.C. Berkeley School of Law.

Bianca Salaverry

Bianca Salaverry

Bianca Salaverry is a parent Trustee with two boys in 4th and 5th grade. She knew Park Day was the right place for her family from their first visit. What drew her to the school initially was its commitment to progressive education and centering of social justice, but the warmth and diversity of the community have proven to be equally meaningful. From Day 1 Bianca has taken advantage of the many opportunities to get involved at Park Day, including volunteering in the classroom, driving for field trips, and running a booth at the Halloween Carnival. She has taken on more extensive leadership roles in the past two years as Room Parent and co-chair of the Parent Stewardship Group. She’s excited to learn and support the school even more as a Board Trustee.
Bianca is a Bay Area native who graduated from Brandeis University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. She has worn several hats since then, but has focused primarily on parenting for the past ten years. She and her husband were living in New York when their sons were born, but the family moved back to the Bay Area in 2014 and have enjoyed living in Oakland since then. Bianca loves rock climbing, reading literary fiction, and reliving her youth at concerts by 90’s bands.

Akeel Williams

Chanda Williams

Chanda Williams

Chanda Williams is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) and the proud parent of a fourth grader at Park Day School. Chanda has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degrees in Integrative Health and Depth Somatic Psychology. She is the Northern California Program Director for the Prison Yoga Project. Since 2015, she has facilitated yoga classes inside San Quentin State Prison. Chanda is a Ph.D. candidate currently completing research that will describe the effects of mindfulness-based, trauma-informed yoga for incarcerated people. She also is a research specialist for a clinical research study sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, evaluating the effects of mindfulness-based movement for veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). In her free time, Chanda loves spending time with family and friends, enjoying delicious food or out in nature.

Erwin Wong

Erwin Wong

Erwin Wong is currently the K-12 Director of Admissions, Enrollment, and Financial Aid at Convent & Stuart Hall in San Francisco. His work includes a 30,000-foot view of the institution when it comes to long-term sustainability thru the broad contextual lens of enrollment management without compromise to inclusive initiatives. For over 25 years, Erwin has devoted his professional life to some facet of education from early childhood programs, primary and secondary education to higher education. His academic background includes a dual undergraduate degree in Political Science and Sociology from UC Irvine, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at UC Berkeley in Public Policy, and a Master in Public Administration from USC. In July, he along with his wife and two girls will relocate to Southern California in order for him to begin his tenure at The Buckley School as their Director of Enrollment Management. In his spare time, he enjoys good conversations over a good cup of coffee.