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.
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. 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 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. 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.