LGEF Board, Staff, and Volunteers
LGEF succeeds due to the talent and effort of many dedicated individuals, including both school parents and community members.
LGEF Board 2022-23
President Eric Dunstan [email protected] Eric is in his 6th year with the organization, having formerly served as Blossom Hill Campus Captain. He and his wife, Dee Dee, have one son in 5th grade at Blossom Hill and a second son in 8th grade at Fisher. Eric is a realtor and a founding member of the Dean's List of Real Estate Partners program and has managed its growth each year. Eric is excited to lead the organization to ensure our children receive a well-rounded education including arts, science and music. Eric serves in honor of his late father, who was a local middle school art teacher for many years. 
Treasurer Beth Jackson [email protected] Beth is in her fourth year with LGEF and is currently serving as Treasurer. A mother of four, she has one student at Los Gatos High Schoo, a seventh grader at Fisher as well as twin fifth graders at Daves Avenue. Beth is a former Home & School Club Treasurer at Daves Avenue Elementary. Beth is also a CPA, who for many years worked for a large professional services firm. 
Vice President of Business Development Alexis Barnickel [email protected] A dedicated and long-serving board member, Alexis leads the effort to engage our local business and real estate community to support our schools. Her dedication has resulted in not only meeting but exceeding fund raising goals each year. She has also played a large part in some of the Los Gatos school auctions. Alexis and her husband have two students at Daves Avenue where she is Co Vice President of the Home and School Club. They also have a son who will be a junior at Los Gatos High School this fall. 
Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Shapiro [email protected] Jennifer is in her first year on the LGEF board. She and her husband Michael have twin boys in sixth grader at Fisher. Jennifer also serves as the One Community LG Campaign Chair and was the Blossom Hill Home & School Club President from 2019-2021. Jennifer joined the LGEF board to continue to foster the strong relationship between the One Community LG Campaign, the Home & School Clubs, and LGEF. 
Daves Avenue Co-Captain Jessica Johnson This is Jessica's fourth year on the LGEF Board serving as Co-Captain at Daves Avenue Elementary. Jessica has one boy at Daves Avenue Elementary in 4th grade, another at Fisher Middle School in 7th grade, and a third boy who is a future LGUSD preschooler. She stays active with a busy professional life as CEO of a successful business and also helping middle schoolers with special needs be more successful in their school environment. She enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering in the community. Jessica is also the Treasurer of the Daves Ave Home & School Club, a past Chair of the Daves Ave Home & School Club Auction, and a sustaining member of Junior League of San Jose. 
Van Meter Co-Captain Mark Vantress Mark is in his third year as Van Meter Co-Captain. He and his wife Tasmin have two daughters, a 5th grader at Van Meter and a 8th grader at Fisher. A realtor with Sereno group, he joined LGEF to ensure every student gets the support they need and to encourage other parents to get more involved. Mark is heavily involved himself as a Soccer coach, Y-Guides parent, room parent, cornerstone reader and art docent. In addition to his work with LGEF, Mark is also on the Van Meter Home & School Club board. 
Blossom Hill Captain Will Schmidt Will is in his first year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Nika, have two children in the district - a son in third grade at Blossom Hill and a daughter in sixth grade at Fisher. Professionally, Will is a Mechanical Design Engineer for Apple. He is heavily involved in Los Gatos youth sports as the girls director and coach for Red Hawks Lacrosse Club, and as a coach of many years in rec soccer for Los Gatos United and for baseball with Los Gatos Little League. |
Parliamentarian Selin Gurses-Acar [email protected] Selin is a past President of LGEF and is in her seventh year with the organization, having formerly served as Treasurer and as Daves Avenue Campus Captain. Selin and her husband Tolga have twin sons at Los Gatos High School. She is a financial consultant and is excited to work with LGEF to ensure all students get a well-rounded education that includes art, science, music and counseling. 
Secretary Beth Stark [email protected] Beth is in her second year on the LGEF Board as Secretary after spending many years serving on the board of the Lexington Home & School Club. She has three children, two of whom are students at Fisher and one at Los Gatos High. 
Vice President of Innovation Grants Doug Gregor [email protected] Doug is in his second year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Amy, have daughters in second and fifth grades at Blossom Hill. Professionally, Doug is a software engineer working to make coding more fun and more accessible. Doug is interested in the thoughtful integration of science, technology, and innovation throughout our children's education. On Team LGEF, Doug will focus on encouraging teacher participation in our Innovation Grants program. 
Vice President of Major Donors and Daves Avenue Co-Captain Kristin Owens Kristin is an experienced LGEF board member, and former LGEF President. She currently leads our efforts with our Major Donor group and also serves as Daves Avenue Co-Captain. Kristin and her husband, Erik, have five children ranging in age from 10 to 32 years old, including a 5th grader at Daves Avenue. A Global Director at a leading cybersecurity company, she and her family enjoy hiking, going to broadway shows and anything Disney! Kristin joined LGEF in 2014 to ensure her children and the kids of Los Gatos have access to the best education possible and are well prepared as they enter higher education. 
RJ Fisher Captain Matt Fondiller Matt is starting his first year as LGEF campus captain for Fisher after serving as a campus captain at Van Meter for six years. He and his wife, Maureen, have a 9th grader at Los Gatos High and a 6th grader at Fisher. A senior marketing manager for a tech company, Matt says he joined LGEF because, “It’s a great way to get involved with my children’s education while giving back to the community.” His goal as captain is to bring more LGEF awareness to Van Meter and improve the parent participation rate. 
Van Meter Co-Captain Hillari Zighelboim This is Hillari's first year on the LGEF board and is Co-Captain at Van Meter. Hillari and her husband Andy cherish living and raising a family in the Los Gatos community, and their 3 boys attend Van Meter and Fisher. In addition to her role with LGEF, Hillari is currently President Elect for the Home & School Club at Van Meter, and has served on the Board for Mariposa Montessori Preschool for the past 6 years. Hillari is also a small business owner in the digital wellness space. Her company, Unplug Revolution, inspires people to take conscious breaks from technology and connect with people and the world around them. |
LGEF Staff
LGEF Executive Director Deborah Weinstein [email protected] Deborah is in her tenth year with LGEF; in her eighth year as Executive Director, previously she served as a Board member and VP of Major Donor. Her son and daughter both attend Los Gatos High. Passionate about education, Deborah is a certified K-12 Substitute Teacher. Deborah has been serving our town and raising funds for years, including: Co-Chair of Community Campaign for the Capital Campaign for the Los Gatos Library, Fundraising Chair for Los Gatos Parent Nursery School Board, Member of Los Gatos General Plan Update Committee, and Member of North 40 Specific Site Plan Committee. |
LGEF Finance Operations Manager Karin Luton [email protected] Karin is the new LGEF Finance Operations Manager. She and her husband have two daughters at Los Gatos High School. Karin has previously volunteered for the Daves Home & School Club and Fisher Site Council in various roles She is excited to continue to serve the community that welcomed her family when they moved from Seattle six years ago. |
LGEF Teacher Advisory Council
The ongoing advice and advocacy of the LGEF Teacher Advisory Council is essential to accomplishing our mission of supporting teachers and staff. We thank all our council members for their service.
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Holly Benjamin
Mark Fanderl |
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LGEF Volunteers
The LGEF board would like to thank the many volunteers who have chosen to help our students, contributing their valuable time to LGEF during the current school year.
These volunteers are parents, staff, and other community members. They assist in a wide range of areas such as driving our vehicle in the holiday parade, business development, the LGEF Finance committee, developing video or photos, or representing LGEF to a grade level at a particular school.
Thank you LGEF Volunteers!
Your efforts are important and appreciated.
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Karen Briones
Carrie Dean Kate Ferguson Andrew Ferguson |
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LGUSD Board Liaisons to LGEF
Trustee, Los Gatos Union School District Board Peter Noymer [email protected] A member of the LGUSD Board of Trustees, Peter has lived in Los Gatos with his family since 2003. He and his wife have three children who had amazing experiences at Van Meter and Fisher. You can read more about Peter here. |
Trustee, Los Gatos Union School District Board Courtney Monk [email protected] A member of the LGUSD Board of Trustees, Courtney has focused her career on improving educational outcomes and opportunities for students from all backgrounds. She and her husband have two children attending LGUSD schools. You can read more about Courtney here. |
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