Serving Preschool Through 8th Grade in the San Francisco East Bay Since 1962

Trustees

Leaders, Ambassadors, Visionaries and Partners

The Board is responsible for stewarding the Seven Hills mission and strategic goals, and trustees act as fiduciaries for future generations of Seven Hills students—exercising oversight of the school’s financial health, approving the school’s annual budget, and overseeing the school’s physical assets and fundraising efforts. Importantly, the Board selects, evaluates, and supports the Head of School. The Board also offers expertise in areas such as law, construction, human resources, marketing, public health, and finance.

The Board, with the Head of School, creates the school’s strategic plan; the Head of School and Leadership team are responsible for overseeing its implementation. The Head alone is responsible for collaborating with faculty and staff to develop and maintain the academic programs that fulfill the school’s mission, as well as dealing directly with parent needs and concerns.

The Board is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the school—disciplinary and personnel issues, as well as admissions and modified tuition decisions, are the responsibility of the Head of School. In short, the trustees act as stewards of the school while serving as ambassadors of the Seven Hills mission.

Unlike charter schools or for-profit private schools, the Board serves as an independent governing body of a 501(c(3) non-profit organization. Seven Hills is an active member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and holds full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools (WASC). The Board adheres to the “Principles of Good Practice” established by NAIS.

You can click here to read more about the work of the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees helps Seven Hills navigate a future we imagine together. By looking up and out to the world in which our students will contribute and thrive, the Board serves as leaders, ambassadors, visionaries and partners. - Kathleen McNamara, Head of School

Trustees

List of 25 members.

Katie Alberts
Bio
Katie is an attorney and partner in Leone & Alberts, a law firm specializing in litigation for school districts, cities, the UC Regents, and other public entities. She has nearly 25 years of experience in complex litigation involving civil rights and discrimination, special education, tort liability, governance and statutory duties, business and construction disputes, land use and code enforcement, development fees, writs of mandate, and appeals. Katie and her wife, Lori, have a rising 5th grader at Seven Hills and an 8th grader.
Heather Alumbaugh
Bio
Dr. Alumbaugh is the vice president for academic life at De La Salle High School, where she is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership, vision, and direction for the design and implementation of the school’s academic programs. She is the first female chief academic officer in the school’s history. Before De La Salle, she was an associate professor of English at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University and a B.A. in English with a concentration in Spanish literature from UCLA. Heather and her husband, David, have a rising 8th grader at Seven Hills.
Paul Deeringer
Bio
Paul currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at John Muir Health. Paul has spent over 20 years in healthcare in a variety of roles across the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, including as an executive, consultant, and attorney. Paul received his bachelor’s degree in religion from Princeton University and his law degree from Georgetown University with an emphasis in healthcare economics. Paul and his wife, Christa, have a set of spirited twin girls in Middle School.
Jon Forman
Bio
After earning a B.A. from the University of Chicago in 2000, Jonathan joined the United States Marine Corps. After his first combat tour with the infantry, Jonathan was selected to lead a platoon in the most elite unit within the Marine Corps and conducted numerous raids on high-value targets operating from Ramadi to Syria. In 2007, Jonathan became a healthcare investor. Through self-study of the relevant disciplines of finance, accounting, biology, and medicine, Jonathan was an analyst at a dedicated healthcare hedge fund in San Francisco by 2011. Between 2016 and 2023, Jonathan was a healthcare portfolio manager at Citadel, the most successful hedge fund ever. He resides in Lafayette with his wife, Laura, and has two sons (one in the Lower School) and a daughter.
Shireen Ghorbani
Bio
Dr. Shireen Ghorbani is a gastroenterologist with John Muir Specialty Medical Group and an alumna of Seven Hills. She has held leadership roles in the San Diego Gastroenterology Society and a major San Diego hospital's Medical Supervisory Committee. Shireen completed her undergraduate and medical training at UC San Diego, Drexel University, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Scripps Clinic. She now lives in the Bay Area with her physician husband and their two children, who attend Seven Hills.
Kwesi Graves
Bio
Kwesi has over 15 years of experience in SaaS software sales and revenue operations. He is currently a Regional Sales Leader at LinkedIn, leading a team focused on driving revenue for LinkedIn's Talent Solutions Division. Prior to this, Kwesi served as the Global VP of Sales and U.S. Country Manager for Obsidi, a diversity and talent software company based in Toronto, and as the VP of Sales at Scribe, a productivity automation startup based in San Francisco. Before joining Scribe, Kwesi spent nearly a decade at LinkedIn during his first tenure, leading various sales organizations within LinkedIn's Sales Solutions business.
Kwesi holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Oregon, with a concentration in finance. He resides in Pleasant Hill and has a 5th grader at Seven Hills and a 3-year-old son.
Joel Grossman
Bio
Joel is a technology entrepreneur and current President and co-founder of NumberAI, an AI-powered phone answering and texting solution for the automotive industry, backed by Google’s Gradient Ventures, Threshold Ventures (fka DFJ), and Costanoa Ventures. Before that, Joel was COO of Location Labs, a mobile location-based family safety company acquired in 2014, overseeing product, sales, business development, and people operations. Joel holds an ScB from Brown University in Computer Science and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Joel and his wife, Holly, have two children at Seven Hills and one alumnus.
Raj Gupta
Bio
Raj is a tax partner at Moss Adams, focusing on real estate and private equity tax issues, and is the tax department leader in San Francisco and Walnut Creek. He grew up in Walnut Creek and attended Palmer School and Northgate High School. Raj has a 4th and 2nd grader and a young son with his wife, Margaret.
Rose Harris
Bio
Rose is Head of Finance for the Arc Institute, a nonprofit science research organization in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley. She is responsible for the finance, facility and IT functions as well as managing the build of the Institute’s campus in Palo Alto. Rose previously spent 20 years in various roles within the healthcare industry, serving as a VP of finance consulting to Fortune 500 companies as well as government and municipality clients. Originally from Northern California, Rose received her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Rose and her husband have a 3rd and 6th grader at Seven Hills.
Jacques Herring
Bio
Jacques is a Senior Vice President for Ross Stores, Inc. He has been in the retail industry for 25 years, serving in senior leadership roles for over 15 years. Before joining Ross Inc., Jacques served in the director role for ShopKo stores in Salt Lake City and Gap Inc. in Atlanta. He has a 4th grader at Seven Hills and a son and daughter in high school.
Kara King
Bio
Dr. Kara King, a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente, serves as Assistant Chief of Staff for Maternal and Child Health and specializes in robotics surgery. She graduated from Wake Forest University and Duke University, completed her residency at Duke Hospital, and earned a Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina. Kara lives with her husband and their two children, a 4th grader and an ECE student at Seven Hills.
Chalis Kuba
Bio
Chalis is a Director of Corporate Finance at Rodan+Fields, a leading global premium skincare company. During her 20+ year career, Chalis held various finance and strategy roles in grocery and consumer products companies, including Safeway, Treasury Wine Estates, and Diamond Foods. She collaborates on financial and operating forecasts, evaluates business strategies and process optimization, and builds high-performing teams. Part of the Seven Hills family for ten years, Chalis has a graduate from Seven Hills and a 7th grader.
Rashna Larson
Bio
Rashna is a Program Manager at Google, focusing on consumer insights, operations, and change management within Devices and Services Marketing. Before Google, Rashna was a lead teacher at San Francisco and New York City independent schools. A Walnut Creek native, she graduated from Carondelet High School. She attended Loyola Marymount University and CCNY, where she ultimately earned her B.A. in Communications and M.A. in Early Childhood Education. Rashna and her husband have two children at Seven Hills—one in 1st grade and one in ECE.
Eric Littell
Bio
Eric is a Senior Engagement Manager at Google, working within the Google Cloud organization. He is responsible for crafting services-strategies around Generative AI and cloud-transformation needs for Google Cloud’s enterprise customers. Prior to Google, Eric worked at the data analytics startup Looker, within professional services, scoping and selling business intelligence solutions for Looker’s customers. Eric graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with a degree in Quantitative Economics and a Computer Science concentration. Eric and his wife, Kari, have two boys—one in Middle School and one graduate.
Whitney Livermore 00
Bio
A proud alum of Seven Hills, Whitney is the Dean of Student Life at The Branson School, with responsibility for student support and wellness, culture and community building, and student leadership development. All of her work at Branson centers on the complex challenges inherent in creating the equitable, student-centered, and mission-driven systems that sustain high-performing institutions. Before joining Branson, Whitney taught history and coached basketball at Branson and The Thacher School. She holds a B.A. in American Studies and Chinese from Williams College and an M.A. in teaching from the University of San Francisco, with an emphasis in curriculum design.
Greg Marsh
Bio
Greg is a global recruiting leader and consultant with 20 years of experience scaling high-growth, transformative companies, including Google, Square, and Pinterest. Currently serving as co-founder and recruiting partner at ACME Marsh Consulting, Greg specializes in guiding companies at all stages of growth, optimizing recruiting processes, and building diverse teams. He and his wife, Julie, have an 8th grader, a 6th grader, and twins in 3rd grade.
Ianthus Martin
Bio
Ianthus is a Director and Head of Investment and Trading Technology for Securities Lending at BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager. He is responsible for Cash Investments and Securities Lending Trading applications, creating a scalable, accessible, and agile platform integrating quantitative and data-driven decision-making capabilities across workflows for the business, which has a global footprint across the US, Europe, and Asia. lanthus' time with the firm dates to 2007, with several prior roles, including with the Global Investment Operations team, leading the US Securities Lending Operations group. Before BlackRock, he was a manager with State Street's Reconciliation and Control group. Ianthus and his wife, Xiomara, have a 4th grader at Seven Hills.
Tanvee Mehra
Bio
Tanvee has a 20-year career in the consumer goods space as a commercial leader across marketing and sales functions. She was most recently the Vice President of Customer Activation at Beyond Meat, a leader in the plant-based meat category. She has also held leadership roles at Rodan + Fields and EJ Gallo Winery and is currently advising emerging companies and coaching. Tanvee spent the first part of her childhood in South Africa, then immigrated to the US and settled in Central California. She attended Cornell University and, after graduation, lived in Southern California, Colorado, and the Bay Area. Tanvee and her husband have a 4th grader and a Kindergartener at Seven Hills.
Julie Meissner
Bio
Board Chair. Julie is the founder and CEO of Treehouse Wealth Advisors, an independent financial advisory collective focusing on empowering women to invest their time and assets meaningfully. Julie received her CRCP designation through The FINRA Institute at Wharton and her B.S. in finance from Golden Gate University. While in college, Julie co-founded a juice and smoothie business, which developed into a franchise chain. Julie and her husband, Jay, live in Lafayette and have two daughters, one graduate and one in 3rd grade.
Ronke Olatunji
Bio
Ronke is a small business owner of a management consulting firm named ADOLAtunji Consulting Services. She has over 20 years of internal auditing and accounting experience in the healthcare, manufacturing, education, and financial services industries. Ronke helps small businesses and large organizations with accounting, operational, and process implementation/improvement needs. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and earned her B.Sc. in business administration and accounting from Cal State East Bay and her MBA in organizational leadership from Chapman/Brandman University. Ronke and her husband, Ernie, are parents of two Seven Hills alums and a 3rd grader.
Dasol Park
Bio
Dasol Park is a Senior Director at Nuveen Leveraged Finance, specializing in high-yield bonds and syndicated loans in the oil, gas, and consumer retail sectors. He previously worked at Symphony Asset Management and PIMCO and served in the South Korean Army's military intelligence unit. Dasol holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Swarthmore College and lives in Alamo with his wife and two sons, one of whom is in Lower School at Seven Hills.
Bryce Pinkos 99
Bio
Currently the Manager of Photography and Digital Assets at Lucasfilm, Bryce is responsible for the photography that supports publicity and marketing for all Star Wars properties as well as consumer products, games, Disney Imagineering, and Parks divisions. An accomplished entertainment professional with extensive experience in allocating and managing studio budgets for both feature films and television series, he is skilled in team management, successfully leading direct reports and coordinating larger production teams. With over 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Bryce has worn many hats—including having worked at major studios, media networks, and talent agencies. He graduated from USC’s Annenberg School of Communication with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Fine Art Photography. Bryce lives in San Francisco with his wife Shawn, two boys, and dog Juno.
Marcela Robledo
Bio
Marcela Robledo is a partner based in Cleary Gottlieb’s Bay Area office. Her practice focuses on the intellectual property, data, and technology aspects involved in a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, licensing, collaboration agreements, and joint ventures. Marcela has practiced law in the United States and Colombia. She is a member of the American and California Bar Associations, as well as the International Trademark Association and the Hispanic National Bar Association. Marcela joined the firm as a partner in 2022 from a major international law firm. She received an LL.M from the New York University School of Law. Marcela lives with her husband, Juan, and her son in the Middle School.
Del Stafford
Bio
Del is a managing director and head of the Americas Portfolio Consulting team within the iShares division at BlackRock. His team consults directly with institutions across the Americas to develop tailored portfolio solutions covering various asset classes and product structures. Before this role, he was the head of the model portfolio and solutions business, serving on the investment research approval board. Before joining BlackRock in 2008, Del began his career with The Vanguard Group in Pennsylvania. He holds an MBA from La Salle University, a bachelor of science in finance from Bloomsburg University, and is a CFA Charterholder. Del and his wife, Kim, have a daughter in the Middle School.
Ben Winig
Bio
Benjamin D. Winig, JD, MPA, is the Founder of ThinkForward Strategies, a national consulting firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. For over two decades, Ben has provided legal, policy, and strategic advice and counsel to local governments, community-based organizations, think tanks, and philanthropies. His recent work has focused on dismantling barriers that impede good governance and equitable policymaking. Ben is a skilled facilitator and trainer who works with individuals and organizations nationwide interested in challenging their potential to create positive change. Previously, Ben served as Vice President of Law & Policy at ChangeLab Solutions and practiced municipal law in California. He graduated from the University of Michigan with distinction and earned his law degree and master’s in public affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ben and his wife live in Walnut Creek and have two children. Their oldest is a recent alumnus of Seven Hills.