Monique Colón, Board Chair
Monique joined the Mission Kids board as the Admissions Chair in August 2023, after serving on the Admissions team for 2 years, and was recently elected to serve as Board Chair for the current school year. Professionally, Monique is the Contracts Manager for the City and County of San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing where she oversees a contracts portfolio with over 60 different non-profit organizations and an annual budget totaling over $500 million. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of California Santa Cruz and a Master in Public Administration from Golden Gate University. Monique and her husband are the proud parents of two children, one current Mission Kid and one alumnus.
Christina Maluenda, Co President
Christina Maluenda (she/her) is one of the founding Co-Director/Teachers of Mission Kids and has been working in early childhood education for over 25 years. She was the Founder and Director of Imagine Preschool, which merged with Mission Kids to become a licensed child care facility in 2009.
Prior to her time at Imagine, Christina served as the Director of Partners in Autism Treatment, a non-profit agency serving young children on the autism spectrum. As Director, she focused on integrating children with autism into preschool settings. Christina has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from Duke University and a Master of Science in Child Development from University of California Davis. Christina is a Spanish bilingual educator, a certified CLASS observer and a trained member of San Francisco’s NERT program. Christina also holds a Child Development Program Director Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She has served on the Mission Kids board since 2011 and is the mother of two Mission Kids alumni.
Heather Lubeck, Co President
Heather Lubeck (she/her) has worked at Mission Kids as a founding Co-
Director/Teacher since the school was licensed in 2009. She has over 25 years of teaching, research, and administrative experience in a variety of educational settings and with students from a wide diversity of backgrounds.
Before working at Mission Kids, she worked for 4 years as an elementary reading specialist with the Georgia State University Department of Psychology and taught elementary special education in a public school district in the Atlanta area. In 2001, she received the Atlanta Journal & Constitution’s annual award for teaching excellence in the state of Georgia. She holds a Masters in Special Education from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia. Heather holds a Child Development Program Director Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She is the proud mom of three Mission Kids alumni.
Ryland Hale, Vice President
Ryland Hale is the proud parent of one current Mission Kid and one future Mission Kid. Originally from LA, Ryland studied music at UC Santa Cruz, spent a few years in New York, and now lives in the Mission District. Professionally, Ryland is a product manager with extensive experience in the music and entertainment industries, focusing on global legal compliance and product development. He co-founded a music licensing and royalty processing company, which was sold to Spotify where he then worked for six years. Ryland frequently volunteers to clean the city of San Francisco and loves exploring the Mission and its playgrounds with his children and wife.
Tracy Tilghman, Secretary
Tracy serves as the Secretary for the Mission Kids Board of Directors. In her professional career, she has over 21 years of federal and private sector experience ranging from Health Communications to Public Health and Disaster Response assistance. She also serves as a Public Health Consultant for a boutique consulting firm. She holds a Bachelors in Communications, and a Masters in Public Health and Social Work. She moved to San Francisco from the Washington, DC region over 9 years ago and has since made the Bay Area home. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family, reading, and going to the spa. She is the proud parent of two Mission Kids alumni and one current Mission Kids student.
Lisa Ricardo, Treasurer
Lisa was born and raised in the Bay Area and attended UC Davis where she studied Economics. She is the Managing Director of CBIZ ARC Consulting, where she does technical accounting and helps clients implement accounting systems. A long time resident of Visitacion Valley, she and her family recently moved to the peninsula where they enjoy spending time outdoors, riding bikes and playing softball. She joined the Mission Kids Board in 2022. She is the parent of two Mission Kids alumni and one current Mission Kid.
Susie Orozco Franco, Alumni Chair
Susie is currently the Legal Operations Analyst for the Legal Department at Gap Inc, where she helps the department meet monthly financial deliverables, ensures their billing guidelines and policies are being followed by outside counsel, and collaborates with business partners to resolve billing issues. In addition, she was a committee member of Gap Inc’s business resource group for the Latinx Group, HOLA, for 10 years where they coordinated events that elevated the Latino employee experience to foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity, provided networking opportunities, and organized community volunteer events with Latino based non-profit organizations in San Francisco. She joined the Mission Kids Board in July of 2022, serving as Secretary. She is the proud parent of one Mission Kids alumna and one current Mission Kid.
Bianca Gonzalez, Family Engagement Chair
Bianca Gonzalez joined the board of Mission Kinds in 2023, serving as the Family Engagement Chair. She was born and raised in San Francisco and is proud to be raising her four kids, including one Mission Kids alumnus and two current Mission Kids, in the Mission District. An active community volunteer, Bianca is also involved with San Francisco’s Carnaval celebration, as well as serving on the Advisory Committees for both the SF Police Department and the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. Bianca loves spending time with her family and connecting with her community.
Lucy Nagle, Admissions Chair
Lucy is a 3rd generation San Franciscan. She attended NYU where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in history and has worked in various jobs ranging from retail to a mosaic tile studio. Currently, she is enjoying being a parent full time to one Mission Kid alumna and one future Mission Kid. Lucy and her family enjoy cooking, going on local adventures, and making up stories together..
Alicia Nevarez, Fundraising Chair
Alicia is a 3rd generation San Franciscan, born and raised in the Glen Park and Mission District with ties all around the City. She graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing. Since then she has worked in Marketing, Customer Service and the retail field at Nordstrom. She is an active volunteer in her community devoting most of her time to Saints Peter and Paul Salesian School, where she works numerous events, serves as room parent and assists with launching their fundraiser. Most recently, she has taken on the role of stay at home mom while pursuing a new degree in teaching at CCSF. Alicia and her partner (Joey) have three children, including 1 Mission Kid alumna and 1 current Mission Kid.
Minerva Oliveras, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair
Born and raised in Mexico City, Minerva went to Universidad Mexicana, where she got her Bachelors in Marketing and Advertising. She started her career as a Creative Strategist at Yahoo!. She moved to San Francisco 12 years ago and has worked as a translator (English-Spanish) at Google and Apple. For the past year, she has done all the translations for the Mission Kids communications. Minerva is currently a stay at home mom to one incredible current Mission Kid.
Melissa Pinto, Board Development Chair
Melissa Pinto is the mama to one current and one future Mission Kid. She has over 10 years of experience working with children in various settings. In addition, she was on the Admissions/Enrollment team for her son’s first year at MK and worked as a program coordinator at a neighboring school. Born in San Francisco, she has a B.S. in Human Services from UNLV and an M.A. in Early Childhood Education Leadership from Ashford University. She lives in the Excelsior with her husband and two boys.
Ruth Reynaga-Sengo – Staff Engagement Chair
Ruth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion/Apparel Design from the Academy of Art University and has 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry here in San Francisco. She joined the Mission Kids Board in 2022 and has since contributed to new landscaping designs to enhance the school’s environment, as well as implemented a monthly staff appreciation event to strengthen the school community. Ruth is the proud parent of one Mission Kids alumna and one current Mission Kid.