Board of Trustees

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).

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.

Aby is parent to a third grader and a kindergartner at Park Day. She was born in Mexico, grew up in San Francisco and, after two stints on the East Coast, finally returned to the Bay Area and settled in Oakland in 2015. Aby is a corporate attorney with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. She is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks some French. Aby enjoys running, reading, and creating spreadsheets.

Throughout her life, Leniece navigated spaces as one of the few, first or the only. And at every step of her career, whether in classrooms, across systems or sectors, she’s made it her one defining mission to expand opportunity for the underrepresented, overlooked and underestimated.

Leniece founded Compass Talent, a firm that builds inclusive workplaces for companies with ARR ranging from $2M-$36B to address inequity at work. Additionally, she is a Senior PM at LinkedIn where she manages a portfolio of executive programs for the company’s most senior leaders, globally. Leniece is a trusted mentor for Techstars, alum of BLCK VC, published writer and impact investor. A Bronx-native, raised in a hard working, union card carrying, blue collar household, Leniece holds a BA from the University of Vermont, MS from Bank Street College and MA from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Most importantly, she is one half of a co-parenting duo raising fiercely curious kiddos who are our greatest teachers.

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.

Andrew is a Park Day dad and an Oakland native who has developed a deep appreciation for the progressive principles and community at PDS. He works in biotech, developing fermentation-based processes to sustainably produce ingredients traditionally extracted from nature or synthesized from petroleum. Andrew holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Harvard Medical School and a BA in Biology from Pomona College. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys family time with his wife Katrina, daughter Gemma and dog Poppy, coaching kids’ soccer, and skiing and rock climbing.

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 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.

Adam was born and raised in Oakland, attended Park Day through 6th grade, and now is a Park School Dad. He currently works as a project manager in the utilities field and has a background in environmental consulting and geographic information systems with extensive experience in the fields of arboriculture and nature resource management.

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 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”.

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.

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.

Jerry Smith is a 20-year Oakland resident and proud parent of twins in Middle School at Park Day. As a retired Internal Medicine physician and laboratory researcher in obesity and developmental biology, he now focuses on parenting, volunteering on campus and philanthropy. Jerry hopes to apply the problem-solving and communication skills from his career to his service on the board. His vision for Park Day and its larger community includes fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, expanding financial aid access for students and promoting volunteerism in Park Day’s dynamic family of parents, neighbors and alumni. Jerry can also be found meditating, boiling in a hot tub, lifting heavy things, woodworking, baking needlessly complicated cakes and annually/excessively haunting his house for charity.

Erwin Wong is currently the Director of Enrollment Management at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks.  His work includes a 30,000-foot view of the institution when it comes to long-term sustainability through 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 his spare time, he enjoys good conversations over a good cup of coffee.