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 Carlmont. 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.
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.
Ellen has lived in Belmont since 2008 and has served on the SchoolForce Board since 2022 as Financial Secretary. Her two children currently attend Cipriani and Ralston. She is passionate about supporting the schools and community that play an important role in her children’s growth and education. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities and playing music with her children. Professionally, she works as a Senior Director of Product Management at a cybersecurity company, She holds an inactive CPA license and had worked in public accounting and internal audit for over 10 years.
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 Institute for Economic Policy Research as Assistant Director of 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. Since then, she has served as Sandpiper Chair, Vice President of Annual Giving, Vice President of Operations, and President. She currently serves as the Student Ambassador Program Director, where she is passionate about inspiring students to give back to their community.
A Redwood Shores resident since 2009, Ying and her husband have two children who attended Sandpiper Elementary and Ralston Middle School and are now students at Carlmont High School. She enjoys volunteering in classrooms and supporting local youth sports. After many years of leading fundraising efforts and fostering parent engagement across the district, Ying is excited to help students discover the joy and importance of service and leadership.
Ying holds a B.A. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring the outdoors.
Matt Wong officially joined the School Force Board in 2025 after assisting the SchoolForce Gala group in 2025. Matt and his wife Jaclyn have two children at Central and Ralston. He started with a myriad of odd volunteer jobs at Central wherever the need presented itself, from teaching music, to facilities and IT. Professionally, Matt has done marketing from cybersecurity to coffee, from startups to corporate. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas, a BSCE BSEE from UC Davis, and grew up in San Francisco, CA.
Esther Chung joined SchoolForce in 2026 as the Central Elementary SchoolForce Chair after serving on Central Elementary School’s PTA Board as Secretary and Parliamentarian, and volunteering over the years at Central in a variety of capacities. She and her husband Steve have two daughters, one at Ralston Middle School and one at Central. She has been a resident of Belmont since 2005.
Esther brings over 25 years of Silicon Valley startup and corporate legal experience, including the last 16 as owner of E Chung Legal Services, advising startups and investors on corporate governance, financings, and partnerships. She is licensed to practice law in California and New York and holds a JD from NYU and a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Esther enjoys traveling, running, and the arts with family and friends.
Penny (Pei-Wen) Hu joined SchoolForce in 2026 as the Central Elementary SchoolForce Co-Chair after serving on Central Elementary School’s PTA Board as Secretary in 2025, and brings five years of room parent experience. She loves helping out around campus, volunteering for everything from judging the Science Fair and supporting the readathon, to helping with yard duty and lunch!
Penny and her husband, Jack, have two kids at Central Elementary School. The family moved to Belmont in 2021. Penny works as a Research Planning Lead at Astellas Pharma Inc.
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 SchoolForce Board meeting
Evgenia immigrated to Belmont in 1993 and is a proud graduate of Central Elementary School, Ralston Middle School, and Carlmont High School. She lives in Belmont with her husband, daughter, and Great Pyrenees. Her daughter attends Fox Elementary. Evgenia is passionate about giving back to the school district that shaped who she is today.
Professionally, Evgenia leads people operations, human resources, and talent acquisition for tech startups, with a focus on edtech. She holds a BA in History from Stanford University and an MA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, watching her daughter dance and play music, and valiantly (if unsuccessfully) attempting to be a graceful ballerina.
Marilyn joined SchoolForce in 2026 as the Fox Elementary Co-Chair. She is a proud parent of two children at Fox. As an active community volunteer, Marilyn brings a deep commitment to youth development, having dedicated over 250 volunteer hours to community initiatives through local schools, children’s hospitals, and youth coaching.
Marilyn earned her B.A. in Economics and Political Science from UC Davis. Professionally, she brings an established background in marketing, operations, and strategy across the technology sector, having held roles at leading companies including Salesforce and Symantec.
Cindy Luzcando is excited to serve as the SchoolForce Chair for Nesbit Elementary. She is passionate about building strong partnerships between families, educators, the PTA, and SchoolForce to support exceptional educational opportunities for every student.
Originally from New York City, Cindy moved to the Bay Area in 2025 with her husband and their two boys after spending 10 years living in Europe. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and brings experience in leadership, marketing, and strategic planning. Cindy is the founder of SoulFit Theory, a fitness and wellness company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations improve their physical health, mental well-being, and overall quality of life.
In her free time, Cindy enjoys traveling, training, reading, and spending time with her family.
David Cheng has lived in Belmont since 2020 and is a proud father of two, one at Ralston and another 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.
Kristin Misner-Gutierrez has spent her career helping cities tackle housing and homelessness — first from inside NYC’s Mayor’s Office, where she rose from Chief of Staff to Deputy Commissioner for Supportive and Affordable Housing, and now as a consultant advising mayors. She runs her own consulting practice, working locally and internationally with Bloomberg Associates, She recently relocated to the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters who attend Ralston and Fox. When she’s not deep in a strategy session, you’ll find her on the pickleball court, at a book club, or scouting out the next great restaurant.
Annie moved to the Bay Area in 2016 and has called Redwood Shores home since 2024. Originally from Québec, Canada, she is the proud mom of a kindergartener and a two-year-old. With a professional background in logistics and compliance in the wine industry, she brings strong organizational skills and a collaborative spirit to her volunteer work. Annie looks forward to supporting the classroom, SchoolForce, and PTA initiatives, and values building connections that bring families together. In her free time, she enjoys biking around the Bay Trail with her family, exploring the Bay Area and practicing mindfulness.
Lily joined SchoolForce in 2026 as the Sandpiper SchoolForce Chair. She is a proud parent of two children at Sandpiper and has volunteered across the TK–8th grades, including teaching mindfulness and emotional regulation, as well as serving as a room parent and classroom volunteer. She’s passionate about supporting whole child development and cultivating joy and resilience for the next generation.
Professionally, Lily has spent her career in branding and marketing across technology and consumer companies, most recently in edtech. She’s looking forward to bringing that experience to SchoolForce’s fundraising efforts at Sandpiper.
Lily holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University, and is a certified Mindfulness/Meditation Teacher & Coach. She enjoys hiking and biking around the Bay Area with her family, and playing music with her sons as part of a family piano trio.