Board of Directors
Oona Marti, President
Oona has served on the Mission Kids board since March of 2017, becoming President of the Board in January of 2022. Initially focused on the annual fundraising efforts of the school, she ran the successful capital campaign for the private funding necessary to buy the property at 969 Treat and build our new school. She is a professional nonprofit fundraiser with experience in all areas of development including special events, grantwriting, major donor appeals and direct mail. In addition to her work with Mission Kids, she is an active volunteer at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, serving on the SSC and as Co-Chair of both the Room Parents and Welcome committees. She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in French Studies. She and her wife have two Mission Kids alumni.
Lisa Ricardo, Vice President
Lisa was born and raised in the Bay Area and attended UC Davis where she studied Economics. She is the Managing Director of CBIZ ARK 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 alums and one current Mission Kid.
Susie Orozco Franco, Secretary
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.
Dan Spinnerty, Treasurer
Dan joined the Mission Kids board in 2019 and has served as Treasurer since then. In his professional life, he owns and operates a professional services practice advising small businesses on all things finance, accounting, and HR. He holds a degree in finance from the University of Illinois. Dan and his wife Christine have three children, one Mission Kid alumnus, one current Mission Kid and one future Mission Kid!
Jennifer Clevidence Community, Engagement Co-Chair
Jennifer has served on the Mission Kids board since June of 2020 with a focus on community and family engagement. Professionally, Jennifer serves as an Executive Coach to a growing number of leaders globally, supporting them in their own personal and professional growth as well as advising on organizational development. She graduated with a B.A. in Human Resources from Ohio University, and a Masters of Organizational Development from Bowling Green State University. She also holds certifications from New Ventures West and the International Coaching Federation as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). Jennifer and her partner (David) have two children, one currently at Mission Kids and one an alumna. Together they live in San Francisco’s Garden District.
Judy Lee Haworth, Member-at-large
Judy joined Mission Kids board in May 2017, serving as Head of Admissions for 5 years and now as a Director. Professionally, Judy is a Design Thinking coach, strategist and researcher building capacity in her clients to learn new behaviors and mindsets needed to make shifts in process, culture, and organization. Judy received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Industrial Design from North Carolina State University. She and her husband have two Mission Kids alumni.
Laura Lara-Brady Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair
Laura joined the Mission Kids Board on 2020, focusing on infusing equity practices throughout classrooms and MK processes, as well as exploring ways in which we can build a more inclusive community. Her work outside of MK focuses on building equitable practices in higher education systems for close to 15 years, more recently in her capacity as a Dean and researcher at CCSF and currently working with the Foundation for California Community Colleges. Laura got her B.A. from SFSU and her Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado. She was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, enjoys being near the ocean, and loves showing the world to her amazing daughters. She and her husband have one Mission Kids alumna and one current Mission Kid.
Heather Lubeck, Director
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 20 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 a year at Imagine Preschool in San Francisco. She also worked for 4 years as an elementary reading specialist with the Georgia State University Department of Psychology. Prior to this, Heather 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 has been on the Mission Kids Board since 2011, serving as President from 2011-2022, and is the proud mom of three Mission Kids alumni.
Christina Maluenda, Director
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.
Cummings Nauer-Takapautolo , Fundraising Chair
Cummings, San Franciscan born and raised, joined the Mission Kids Board in June 2021. She is a Program Specialist with the Human Services Agency’s (HSA) Investigations Division. Cummings graduated from the University of San Francisco (USF) with a B.A. in History with a dual emphasis in European and American histories and earned an Ethnic Studies certificate. She works closely with the Samoan and Pacific Islander community in the SF Bay Area and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Samoan Community Development Center (SCDC) in SF’s Visitacion Valley district. She also volunteers as a choir pianist/singer at two local SF churches and is an active member of the Pacifica Moose Lodge. Cummings and her husband, Anthony, currently have one Mission Kids student.
Ruth Reynaga-Sengo, Buildings and Grounds Chair
Ruth has a BA in fashion design from the Academy of Art University, and 12 years of experience in the restaurant industry here in San Francisco. Since 2020, she has shifted to being a full time mom. In addition, she helps with her husband’s solar energy consulting and urban garden planning business, S&S Renewable Energy. Ruth joined the Mission Kids Board in 2022, and is the proud parent of one current Mission Kid and one future Mission Kid!
Chris Thomas, Community Engagement Co-Chair
Chris joined the Mission Kids board in June, 2021. He’s been focusing on creating videos and online events for Mission Kids. He’s a co-founder of Potluck Productions, a media production company in SF. He previously worked as a teacher, a planning director at the Youth Employment Partnership, and as a planner at the Center for Partnership Studies. He was a founding board member of Camp Kesem National, dedicated to supporting children impacted by a parent’s cancer, at no cost to families. He has a B.A in Biology from UC San Diego an M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT. He and his wife, Amanda, both work part time and have one current Mission Kids student and one Mission Kids alumnus.
Marién Villafaña, Admissions Chair
Marien studied mathematics at Universidad de las Américas Puebla and when she moved to San Francisco she worked as a math tutor for several years. She has recently begun an MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Marien loves the parent involvement at MK, the way that students get to go to neighboring parks and walk around the neighborhood, and how most families are very friendly and open. She joined the Mission Kids Board in 2022, and is the proud parent of one MK alum and one current Mission Kid.