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 2023-24
President Eric Dunstan [email protected] Eric is in his 7th year with the organization, having formerly served as Blossom Hill Campus Captain. He and his wife, Dee Dee, have one son in 6th grade at Fisher and a second son in 9th grade at Los Gatos High School. 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. 
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 senior at Los Gatos High School this fall. 
Co-Treasurer Beth Jackson [email protected] Beth is in her fifth year with LGEF and is currently serving as Treasurer. A mother of four, she has one student at Los Gatos High School, an 8th grader and twin fifth graders at Fisher. 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. 
Daves Avenue Co-Captain Jessica Johnson This is Jessica's fifth year on the LGEF Board serving as Co-Captain at Daves Avenue Elementary. Jessica has one boy at Daves Avenue Elementary in 5th grade, another at Fisher Middle School in 8th 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 past Treasurer of the Daves Ave Home & School Club, Boys Team Charity VP Teammates, Daves Aves School Site Council Member, and Fisher School Advisory Council Board Member. 
Daves Avenue Co-Captain Jennifer Fazeli This is Jennifer’s 1st year on the LGEF Board, serving as Co-Captain at Daves Avenue Elementary. Jennifer has two daughters at Daves Avenue, in Kindergarten and 3rd grade. Jennifer has volunteered extensively within her daughters' school(s) for the past 4 years and helps coordinate many of the major school events throughout the school year. She stays active in her professional life as the Owner and Chief Designer at JaBella Jewels. She enjoys spending time in nature, traveling, adventures with her family, and volunteering within the community. 
Blossom Hill Captain Will Schmidt Will is in his second year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Nika, have two children in the district - a son in fourth grade at Blossom Hill and a daughter in seventh 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. |
Vice President of Innovation Grants Doug Gregor [email protected] Doug is in his third year on the LGEF board. He and his wife, Amy, have daughters in third grade at Blossom Hill and sixth grade at Fisher. 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 Marketing Jennifer Shapiro [email protected] Jennifer is in her second year on the LGEF board. She and her husband Michael have twin boys in seventh grade at Fisher. Jennifer also serves as the One Community LG 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 One Community LG, the Home & School Clubs, and LGEF. 
Co-Treasurer Amanda Sullins [email protected] Amanda is joining the LGEF board this year as co-treasurer. She is a CPA and brings with her 25+ years of finance and accounting experience from both public accounting as well as corporate finance. Amanda and her husband have two boys at Van Meter. 
Secretary Beth Stark [email protected] Beth is in her third 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, one of whom is at Fisher and two at Los Gatos High School. 
Van Meter Co-Captain Hillari Zighelboim This is Hillari's second year on the LGEF board. 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 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. 
Van Meter Co-Captain Jim Hamilton This is Jim's first year on the LGEF board. He and his wife have lived in Los Gatos for seven years and have four children, two of whom attend Van Meter Elementary. Jim is active in Los Gatos Little League baseball as a head coach. He has worked as a program manager in the tech industry throughout his career and advises startups. 
Lexington Captain Adrienne Cox This is Jim's first year on the LGEF board. He and his wife have lived in Los Gatos for seven years and have four children, two of whom attend Van Meter Elementary. Jim is active in Los Gatos Little League baseball as a head coach. He has worked as a program manager in the tech industry throughout his career and advises startups. |
LGEF Staff
LGEF Executive Director Deborah Weinstein [email protected] Deborah is in her eleventh year with LGEF; in her eighth year as Executive Director, previously she served as a Board member and VP of Major Donor. Her son attends Los Gatos High, and her daughter just started college. 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 in her second year as the 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 seven 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.
|
Holly Benjamin
Mark Fanderl |
|
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 Ferguson Andrew Ferguson |
|
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. |
Get involved and use your skills
to help your child's school.
to help your child's school.