Matthew Debski joined the SchoolForce Board in 2022 and has served in the role of Secretary as well has being a member of Central’s Site Council. Matt and his wife, Katie, have two sons at Ralston Middle School.
Matt moved to the Bay Area in 2000 after earning his BS and MEng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He works at Google as an Engineering Manager.
Eric has lived in the Bay Area since 2004 and has lived in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District since 2011. He and his wife have two sons, one at Nesbit and one at Ralston. Eric joined the SchoolForce Board in 2018 and currently serves as the SchoolForce treasurer and has previously served as financial secretary.
He currently works at Visa as a Vice President in the Strategy Group. He has an MBA from Rice University and a BS in Accounting and Finance from Indiana University.
Alan Kissick is a proud father of two kids, one at Central and one at Ralston. He first got involved through programs like Art in Action and is a regular volunteer at Central. When he is not working with SchoolForce, Alan is a global health and local patient advocate related to non-communicable and infectious diseases.
In his spare time, Alan is passionate about cycling, the great outdoors, and music, and loves to learn.
Aaron is a San Francisco native who attended public schools throughout his life. He and his wife moved to Belmont in 2014 and have two sons who attend Fox and Ralston. Aaron has many years of experience leading digital marketing and is currently a fractional marketing executive. He can be regularly seen around Belmont helping his sons’ baseball and basketball teams or running on the Bay Trail.
Aaron has a BS in Business Administration from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Texas.
Danielle is a New York native now living in Belmont with her husband and son, who entered kindergarten at Central Elementary in the 2025-26 school year. Danielle’s excited to give back to the public school community through her role with SchoolForce. A proud product of the public school system herself, Danielle brings deep experience in strategic execution and cross-functional team leadership. She looks forward to applying these skills to help streamline and strengthen SchoolForce’s operations.
Danielle works at Iovance Biotherapeutics as a Program Leader and holds a PhD in Biomedical Science from Columbia University and a BS from New York University.
Paul and his wife have two daughters, one who attends Ralston. He first got involved with the Nesbit PTA due to his interest in exploring ways to increase carpooling and extracurricular activities, and he is interested in technologies that build and support communities. He has led Art in Action and several Discovery Day projects – including building and racing solar cars and bringing several of his family’s chickens to meet and play with the children.
Paul has worked in startups and international companies in the clean energy and decarbonization sectors for over 15 years, and he has BSE, MS, and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans. In his spare time, Paul enjoys many sports and camping with his family.
Ellen has lived in Belmont since 2008. She joined the SchoolForce Board in 2022 and serves as the SchoolForce Financial Secretary. Her two children attend Cipriani. Professionally, she was a Director of Product Management at one of the largest cybersecurity companies. Prior to that she worked in internal audit as well as in one of the “big four” public accounting firms. She has a BA in Accounting and Management Information System. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor activities and playing music with the children.
Sherie Lyn Hafalia and her husband, Michael, have lived in Belmont since 2012 and have three children, one at Ralston and one at Central. Sherie has volunteered at Central Elementary teaching music theory, recorder classes, ukulele lessons, and has held leadership roles in the Central PTA, including President and Executive Vice President. Sherie works at Stanford University as a Conference and Events Manager at the Graduate School of Business and also owns Pili Lani Events, curating weddings and corporate events.
Ryan Lewis joined the SchoolForce board in 2022. Ryan has served as President of the Footsteps Child Care Board, and serves as a member of the Measure I Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. He and his wife, Lauren, have two children at Central Elementary. Outside of his community involvement, Ryan works as an executive coach for Federal employees based out of IRS University.
Ryan loves indoor rock climbing, road cycling throughout San Mateo County, and spending quality time with family throughout the Bay Area. He earned his BA from Emory University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.
Ying Gonikman joined the SchoolForce board in 2018. Ying was part of the Measure K and Measure C campaigns serving as chair for OutreachCircle. As a continuation in advocating for school funding, Ying served as Sandpiper Chair, as well as SchoolForce’s VP of Annual Giving, VP of Operations, and finally President. She has been a resident in Redwood Shores since 2009 and has two kids, one who attends Ralston. Ying enjoys volunteering in classrooms and in youth sports leagues. She is excited to work on encouraging parent community involvement at all levels and ensuring that the schools in our district continue to excel.
Ying holds a BA in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. Ying loves to read, travel, and explore the outdoors.
Yian joined the Schoolforce team in 2024 and serves as legal counsel. He is excited to be more involved in supporting our community’s schools and children. He and his wife moved to Belmont in 2022 and have one child who attends Fox.
In his day job, Yian is a partner at a large international law firm, focusing on corporate and financing matters. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Columbia Law School.
The SchoolForce VP of Marketing responsibilities include: working with the Marketing team to ensure brand consistency across all communications and campaigns, planning and executing annual major donor event and donor thank you gifts, and attending the monthly board meetings.
Aparna Kollipara began serving as the SchoolForce Co-Chair for Cipriani Elementary in 2024. Aparna lives in Belmont with her husband and two sons, both at Cipriani. She has volunteered at Cipriani as a room parent and a parent volunteer for school trips and PTA events.
Aparna works for Blue Shield of California as a Senior Program Manager and holds a master’s in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health, a master’s in Economic History from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from UC Berkeley.
Stephen began serving as SchoolForce Co-Chair for Cipriani Elementary in 2025. He lives in Belmont with his wife and their son and daughter, who both attend Cipriani.
Professionally, Stephen works in Data Analytics within the technology industry. Outside of work and volunteering, he enjoys deep sea fishing and spending quality time with his family exploring the great outdoors.
Stephen holds a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
A transplant to Belmont, Ashley Jarc joined SchoolForce in 2025 as the Fox Elementary Chair. She’s long been an advocate for public education and is thrilled to serve BRSSD at the intersection of finance and the development of young humans. Her background includes work at Chicago and Bay Area corporations, in the classroom, and as a writer and investor.
She loves spending time with her family outdoors, most recently at swim meets. Ashley holds a BA in Economics and German from Cornell University and an MA in History from Northwestern University.
Mindy started volunteering as a room parent at Nesbit and then actively volunteered for Nesbit PTA. She was excited to join the SchoolForce Board in 2023. She currently serves as the Nesbit Chair and looks forward to getting more involved to support our community. Professionally, she currently works at a tech company. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor activities.
David Cheng has lived in Belmont since 2020 and is a proud father of two, one incoming 6th grader at Ralston and another TK at Fox. He has previously served on the Central Elementary PTA Board as EVP and been involved in numerous events at the school. Professionally, he works at Bank of America as a Senior Vice President in the Private Bank. In his spare time he loves to travel with his family, run, hike and attend sporting events.
Kirsten is a Redwood City native who joined the SchoolForce board in 2024. She has two daughters, a Kindergartener, and a 2-year-old. She began volunteering as a room parent for her daughter’s TK class and fell in love with the school thus inspiring her to get more involved.
Kirsten holds a bachelor’s in health sciences and was professionally in Human Resources. She enjoys spending time with family, exploring new restaurants, and trying new things.
Represent your school and its unique interests/needs on SchoolForce board
● Represent SchoolForce on your school’s PTA (often in a board position)
● Establish relationships with principal and teachers/staff to promote SchoolForce and its mission within your school community
● Share timely news and information about SchoolForce and its programs as it relates to your school via channels such as school newsletters, parent community application,school website, room parents, and events
● Act as the point person [or act jointly with the Back to School chair] for SchoolForce at your school to answer questions related to SchoolForce’s mission, programs and events such as Back to School Night, TK/K visits, etc.
● Attend monthly board meeting
Represent your school and its unique interests/needs on SchoolForce board
● Represent SchoolForce on your school’s PTA (often in a board position)
● Establish relationships with principal and teachers/staff to promote SchoolForce and its mission within your school community
● Share timely news and information about SchoolForce and its programs as it relates to your school via channels such as school newsletters, parent community application,school website, room parents, and events
● Act as the point person [or act jointly with the Back to School chair] for SchoolForce at your school to answer questions related to SchoolForce’s mission, programs and events such as Back to School Night, TK/K visits, etc.
● Attend monthly board meeting