Heather Barber, a California native, is currently Government and Media Relations Manager for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority in San Francisco. Previously, she worked as Director of External Affairs for AC Transit. Heather is a graduate of Smith College, with a BA in American Studies and Latin American Studies. She spent two years teaching in a Spanish-English dual immersion school in Costa Rica. She lives in El Cerrito with her husband and two children.
Elisa Batista was raised in Miami by a Cuban father and Puerto Rican mother. She is the editor of the parenting weblog, www.MotherTalkers.com. Prior to the birth of her son three years ago, she worked as a reporter for the technology publication Wired News in San Francisco. She has also written for the Boston Herald and other Boston-area newspapers. She holds a BS in print journalism from Boston University. She is married to Markos Moulitsas, founder of the most prominent political weblog on the Internet, the Daily Kos. They live in Berkeley with their son.
Michael Behrens was raised in Berkeley, California. He owns and operates Behrens Design & Graphics, a marketing and advertising firm in Richmond, California. Michael holds an MBA from Golden Gate University with a concentration in Finance. He received his BA in Industrial Arts from San Francisco State University. Michael lives with his wife and two children, in Richmond, California.
Steven Bileca was born in New York City and raised in Miami. He is Chair of the History Department at the Branson School in Ross, CA, an independent college preparatory high school. He began his career as an educator teaching Spanish language and literature after earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Comparative Literature, Philosophy and History. He has studied and worked in the U.S., Spain, Germany and Israel. He is married to Angela Alonso, a native of Seville, Spain. Together, Steve and Angela have been running summer immersion programs for teens in Spain since 1996. In 2000, they co-founded A Different Spain, a tour company based in Spain dedicated to providing culturally enriching travel experiences for clients around the world. They live in Oakland, California with their two children.
Janette Hernández is a first generation American of Guatemalan parents. Janette works at UC Berkeley, Graduate School of Education, in the Principal Leadership Institute, where she serves as the Principal in Residence. She also conducts research in the area of school leadership for school administrators. Janette spent ten years as a teacher for special education classes both in the United States and in Australia. She later worked as Principal of Everett Middle School in San Francisco. Janette lives in Berkeley with her husband and son.
Alison Lingane Kobban was raised in the Bay Area. Alison works as product manager for an education-focused website, GreatSchools.net. Alison co-founded the Global Social Venture Competition, an international business plan competition for profitable ventures with a social mission. She managed a job training program for 'at-risk' teens, led the development of a community garden, and ran children's garden programs at Berkeley Youth Alternatives. Alison holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and a BA from Harvard College. Alison and her husband, who is from Mexico, live in Oakland with their two children.
Rosa Mendoza-Brown was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. Rosa is a career educator. She taught in bilingual schools in Mexico for six years and currently teaches Spanish to elementary-aged students. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from Escuela Para Educadores Normal de Jalisco. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and daughter.
Geraldine Oliver was born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in Pennsylvania. Her love of teaching led her to pursue a degree in Elementary Education from Pennsylvania State University. After graduating, she taught 4-6th grades, in both public and private schools. She speaks Spanish and some French, and has spent several years living in France. Geri lives in Berkeley with her husband and daughter.
Ana Portillo, Board Secretary, is a California native who currently works for the law firm of Jackson & Wallace, LLP in San Francisco as an attorney specializing in corporate civil litigation. Ana is a graduate of UC Berkeley, with a BA in Comparative Literature. She received her JD from Arizona State University College of Law. She is a product of a bilingual family, her father is from Spain and her mother from the United States, and has traveled extensively throughout Spain and France. She lives in Castro Valley with her husband and three daughters.
Liza Sánchez, Board Chair, is a native of Berkeley, California. She received her MA in Education from UC Berkeley, and her BA in American Studies from UC Santa Cruz. Liza has spent many years teaching in both public and private schools and is dedicated to the field of education. Most recently, she created Aprendo Español, a story-based language program for early language learners. Liza is fluent in Spanish and English, speaks conversational German, and some French and Italian. Liza and her husband, who is from El Salvador, live in the East Bay, California, with their four daughters.
Jonathan Waterbury, Board Treasurer, is currently the Finance Manager at TriNet Group, Inc, a human resource outsourcing firm based in San Leandro. He has been at TriNet for over 7 years and currently manages the Financial Planning and Analysis Group, the Internal Audit Group and oversees a cross-functional credit management team. He also worked for two years as Latin American Program Manager for a non profit organization that developed and promoted local venture capital funds, and an additional two years as Business Manager for a non profit magazine. Jonathan has a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University with a specialization in International Finance and Business and a B.A. from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He lives in the East Bay with his wife and son.
Paige Wheeler Fleury is a California native, and is currently the Senior Creative Strategist for a New York-based advertising and marketing agency. A former executive creative director and writer, Paige has over 23 years of experience in marketing and advertising for some of the world's top brands. She currently lives in Oakland, California with her husband and two children, both born in Guatemala.
Héctor Zapana was born on the Island of the sun in Lake Titicaca between Perú and Bolivia. He grew up speaking Aymara and first learned Spanish at age ten. He received a BS in engineering and electronics from State Superior College of San Francisco de Paula González Vigil, and the Universidad Jorge Basadre Grohoman in Perú. He works at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film archive as an electronics specialist.