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 2021-22

​President
​Selin Gurses-Acar
president2020@lgef.org

​Selin is President of LGEF and is in her sixth year with the organization, having formerly served as Treasurer and as Daves Avenue Campus Captain. Selin and her husband Tolga have twin sons at Fisher Middle 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.  
Treasurer
Beth Jackson
treasurer@lgef.org

Beth is in her third year with LGEF and is currently serving as Treasurer. A mother of four, she has an eighth and sixth grader at Fisher as well as twin fourth 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.
Secretary and Lexington Captain
Beth Stark

Beth is in her first year on the LGEF Board.  She serves as Board Secretary and as LGEF Captain for Lexington. She has three children who are students Fisher, Lexington and Los Gatos High. In addition to her LGEF role, Beth is Parliamentarian for the Home & School Club Board for Lexington Elementary.
Vice President of Business Development
Alexis Barnickel
business@lgef.org

​A dedicated and long-serving board member Alexis leads the effort to engage our local business community to support our schools. Alexis and her husband have two students at Daves Avenue.  
Vice President of Innovation Grants
Doug Gregor

Doug is in his first year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Amy, have daughters in first and fourth 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.
Blossom Hill Captain and Social Media Chair
​Eric Dunstan
​blossomhillcaptain@lgef.org

Eric is in his 6th year of leading the LGEF outreach at Blossom Hill, and has taken on the additional role of Social Media Campaign Chair. He and his wife, Dee Dee, have one son enrolled in 4rd grade at Blossom Hill and a second son in 7th grade at Fisher. A fifth-generation CA native, Eric was born and raised in Saratoga. He is passionate about preserving a family oriented community and ensuring children receive a well-rounded education including theater arts, science and music. As a realtor, Eric focuses on helping families new to the area settle into a new home and integrate into the community. In addition to serving on the LGEF board, Eric is a founding member of the LGEF Dean's List of Realtors.  
Daves Avenue Co-Captain
Jessica Johnson
TeamLGEFatDaves@lgef.org

This is Jessica's third year on the LGEF Board, and she is Co-Captain at Daves Avenue. Jessica has one boy at Daves Avenue Elementary in 3rd grade, another at Fisher in 6th grade,  and a third boy who is a future preschooler. Jessica works as an Occupational Therapist at a local middle school and is also CEO of a successful business.  She enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering in the community. Jessica is a current Cub Scout Den Leader, a past Chair of the Daves Ave Home & School Club Auction, and a sustaining member of Junior League of San Jose.
Vice President of Major Donors and
Daves Avenue Co-Captain
Kristin Owens
TeamLGEFatDaves@lgef.org
​
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 9 to 31 years old, including a 4th grader at Daves Avenue. A Global Director of technology marketing at a professional services firm, she and her family enjoy walks to the park, bike riding, playing at the beach, and watching movies. Kristin says she joined LGEF “to become involved in making sure my child has the best education possible. And because my wonderful friend Frances had a captive audience for a 7-hour car ride, and spent the whole time telling me how wonderful LGEF was. And she was totally right!”
Van Meter Co-Captain
​Matt Fondiller
vanmetercaptain@lgef.org​

Matt is starting his sixth year as LGEF campus captain for Van Meter. He and his wife, Maureen, have a 8th grader at Fisher and a 5th grader at Van Meter. 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
​Mark Vantress
vanmetercaptain@lgef.org​

Mark is now in his second year as Van Meter Co-Captain. He and his wife Tasmin have two daughters, a 4th grader at Van Meter and a 7th 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.
Community Member
Becky Tanner

Becky is now in her third year with LGEF as board member. A long time Los Gatos resident who attended Los Gatos schools, Becky has spent the past 20+ years in various leadership roles within Marketing organizations. She is currently Chief Marketing Officer at Wisk, an Urban Air Mobility company based in Mountain View. Although she loves her corporate side, she is excited to be engaged with LGEF as a community member, and previously served as LGEF Board Secretary, and Daves Avenue Elementary Home & School Club President. 

LGEF Staff

LGEF Executive Director
​Deborah Weinstein
director@lgef.org​

Deborah is in her ninth year with LGEF; in her seventh year as Executive Director, previously she served as a Board member and VP of Major Donor.  She currently has a son at Fisher Middle School and a daughter at 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
​Coby Bennette
admin@lgef.org​

Coby has been LGEF Finance Operations Manager for six years. In this role she manages annual operating plan and monthly financial planning and analysis, drives strategy for donors and contributions, plans, implements and administers LGEF technical systems, leads the annual matching grant campaign, processes donations, supports donors - and much more. She and her husband have a son at Los Gatos High and another son now in college. Coby is an involved Los Gatos parent, and was formerly President and Treasurer of Van Meter Home & School Club, and Board Secretary for Fisher Home & School Club.

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.
​
Holly Benjamin
​Mark Fanderl
Shelley Gage
​Julia Lombardi
Fran Mastroianni
Julie Young

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.
Karen Briones
Carrie Dean
​Kate Gude 
Kate Ferguson
Andrew Ferguson
Maria Gerst
​Kate Gude
Chris Giordano
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​Sarah Johnston
​John Kuntzmann
Dorice Piraino-Sharp
Alex Potts
Kim Richman
Ryan Rosenberg
Kim Simon
Michelle Strachan

LGUSD Board Liaisons to LGEF

Trustee, Los Gatos Union School District Board
​Peter Noymer
pnoymer@lgusd.org​

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
cmonk@lgusd.org​

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.
Get involved and ​use your skills 
​to help your child's school.