Meet the YCS
Staff and Board

Our Staff

KAREN CASTILLO

Community Outreach Associate

  • Karen was born in Mexico City and raised in the Bay Area. She is a Woodside High School alumna and received her B.A in Sociology, Social Services from CSUEB. She is passionate about helping underrepresented youth receive opportunities and resources that are not readily available to them. She hopes to be a resource for youth to find their passions and their talents and through service make a positive impact in their communities.

HELENA CIRNE

High School Programs Associate

  • Helena, an alumna of Gunn High School ('19), was raised in Palo Alto. She earned her degree from Columbia University, where she dedicated herself to mental health advocacy and crisis counseling through her involvement with Nightline Peer Listening. Now back in the Bay Area, Helena aspires to empower students in finding their voice through meaningful service engagements. 

EVANGELINE ESTRADA

Elementary/Middle School Programs Manager

  • Growing up in an area that has been incredibly impacted by substance abuse, gangs, violence, poverty, and young people who have been neglected, Eva has made it her life’s mission to empower youth. Eva was born and raised in the East Side of San Jose and aspires to one day have her own organization that helps her community prosper and flourish.

PERSIA FAKHR

Service Outreach Coordinator

  • Persia is a resident of East Palo Alto and recently graduated with a BA in Psychological Sciences, a minor in Writing Studies and English from the University of California- Merced. She is passionate about changing the life trajectories of local youth and families through academic support. She is committed to making a positive contribution in the areas of child and family counseling. 

KAELA FINE

Bookkeeper

  • Kaela began working at YCS in March 2007 and has been a bookkeeper since 1986 working in several offices including a CPA firm where she still prepares tax returns and keeps books for its clients. She was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and lived there for her first 21 years. She became a US citizen in 2008 along with her British born husband, Paul. She attended McGill University in Montreal where she majored in mathematics and took bookkeeping classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. She spent 23 years in Sonoma County and has been a resident of Palo Alto since 1999. Her hobbies include International folk dancing, hiking, biking and playing cards with friends.

ALLIYAH JOHNSON

Data and Evaluation Coordinator, Community Engagement Associate

  • Alliyah is Bay Area born and raised and has been helping youth, kindergarten through college since she can remember. She graduated from CSU Stanislaus in 2022 with a BA in Psychology and is currently working on her MA in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Alliyah strives to build more awareness toward mental health and service initiatives that aid in empowering youth voices in every community.

MORA OOMMEN

Executive Director

  • Mora joined the YCS team as executive director in 2020, following the long tenure of widely respected Leif Erickson. She previously served as executive director of Blossom Birth and Family in Palo Alto. Mora cares deeply about social justice and community service, and she has served on the boards of the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation, Mothers Symposium, California Avenue Area Business Association, and Castilleja School Association. Most recently, Mora was a co-chair of the beloved Palo Alto Black & White Ball. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and University College of London’s Institute of Education, Mora was raised in the United States and India. Since 2007, she has lived in Palo Alto with her husband, daughter, and sprightly dog!

AUBREY PARKE

High School Programs Manager

  • Aubrey is a writer and oral historian who is passionate about using creative practices to build equitable communities. As the High School Programs Manager at YCS, she hopes to use her background in community engagement and public history to cultivate strong ties between YCS staff, students, and community partners. She is originally from San Antonio, Texas but has also lived in Detroit and Pittsburgh before moving to the Bay Area.

MONICA PONCE

Donor Relationships and Community Engagement Manager

  • Coming soon!

EVELIN ROMERO

Associate

  • Coming soon!

JEANNIE STIVERS

Web Designer/Developer

  • As the founder of Jeannie Stivers Web Design, Jeannie specializes in creating custom website designs that reflect the unique personality and needs of each client. She believes that no two businesses are the same, and takes pride in delivering tailored solutions that perfectly fit your industry and goals.

    From author websites to fully functional e-commerce platforms, Jeannie works on a wide range of projects. When needed, Jeannie collaborates closely with a team of programmers to ensure your project meets all technical requirements.

    Jeannie launched JSWD in 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue serving clients with innovative web solutions from the comfort of home.

KERI WAGNER

Service Outreach Coordinator

  • Keri is a long-time Palo Alto resident who was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. After a career in technology, she volunteered on many community, neighborhood, and PTA boards while raising her two sons who attended Palo Alto schools. Keri joined YCS in August 2021, as the Outreach Service Coordinator and believes strongly in the value of community service. Keri enjoys living in Palo Alto with her family, and likes to bike, knit, visit with friends, and hopefully travel again.

ASHLEY YEE-MAZAWA

Senior Director

  • Ashley joined the YCS team in 2014 as a Program Director and became YCS Senior Director in the fall of 2022. She earned a BA in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz, where she also minored in teaching and education. She later earned an MA at San Francisco State University in Women’s and Gender Studies. Ashley is passionate about youth empowerment and has spent her career working with young people at a variety of levels, from kindergarten through college.

Our Board

SALLY BEMUS

Board Vice President

  • Sally is YCS board vice president. She combines an extensive community network as a longtime youth advocate with experience as a seasoned financial controller and business manager.

SUE ELDREDGE

Board Member

  • Sue brings years of youth development experience, having founded and led the Community Network for Youth Development, a capacity-building organization working with youth-serving organizations and schools throughout the Bay Area.

KIRAN GAIND

Board Member

  • Kiran is a former high school history teacher who taught for a decade in the Mission district of SF and East Oakland. She now coaches and consults in her own private practice, Raising Resilience: Creating Cultures of CARE.

STACEY KERTSMAN

Board Member

  • Stacey Kertsman’s life-long commitment to social justice has global roots and has evolved in depth and understanding as she taught, learned, and worked around the world. In 2020 she launched the consulting firm, P-Cubed.  As an independent consultant she focuses on cultivating diverse cultures for learning, development, equity, activated personal belonging, and leadership growth.

STEVEN LEE

Board Member

  • Steven Lee is a lawyer and a Palo Alto community leader. He is a Bay Area native, who grew up in West San Jose and currently lives on California Avenue in Palo Alto. Steven was a 2020 Democratic Party candidate for Palo Alto City Council. He previously served as a Palo Alto Human Relations Commissioner, where he worked on issues ranging from teen mental health, teen vaping, homelessness, and gender equality. He also serves on the boards of the Palo Alto Council of PTAs, Palo Alto Asian-American Connection (fka WizChinese), Palo Alto Transportation Management Association, VTA Citizens Advisory Committee & 2000 Measure A Citizens Watchdog Committee and the Mayfield Neighborhood Association. Steven graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UC Davis with degrees in political science and communication, and from Duke Law School. Steven works as an Associate General Counsel for Content, Safety & Integrity at Meta. His Board service is in a personal capacity and not on behalf of any other groups or entities.

PEDRO RIVAS LOPEZ

Board Member

  • Pedro Rivas Lopez is an artist and cultural creator. He uses art, education, and creative expression to stand up against injustice. His goal is to amplify the voices of those most oppressed and assist with the beginning of their healing through art, community, and expression. Pedro recognizes the importance of youth based service and looks forward to bringing his experience and passion for the arts and social justice to serve his community.

EVAN LURIE

Board Member

  • Evan Lurie is an educator, business analyst, and former financial advisor. He has taught and tutored high school social sciences and English, taught postgraduate instructional methods, and led parent education efforts within PAUSD. He previously has managed staff, streamlined and automated complex critical business processes, isolated and reported key business indicators, designed and implemented infrastructure to support marketing initiatives, and designed staff training for for-profit and non-profit organizations.

    He is completing his J.D. at University of San Francisco in Spring, 2025.

LORI PATTON-JOHNSON

Board Member

  • Lori Patton was raised in East Palo Alto, California, in a family of seven. She was educated by the Ravenswood School and Sequoia Union High School Districts and later pursued higher education at Foothill College. She transferred to Georgia State University and earned a psychology degree. She returned to California in 2015 and has held several positions within the Palo Alto Unified School District. Recently, she earned a graduate degree in elementary education. She is also a proud member of the University AME Zion Church in Palo Alto. She is currently pursuing becoming an ordained Reverend.

LIANE MA

Board Member

  • Liane Ma is currently an Employee Engagement Lead at Luminous Computing, an AI company backed by Bill Gates and other Silicon Valley investors. Throughout her career, she delivered hands-on coaching to individuals, teams, and executives in all aspects of career and personal development. Liane has worked through various roles in marketing, corporate social responsibility, and counseling at non-profit, government, and for-profit settings like Safe Horizon, New York City Department for the Aging, Selina, and Sesame Workshop.

    Brought up as a third-culture kid, Liane prioritizes cultural humility and brings extensive language skills and a familiarity with Korea, China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U.S. to every project. 

BOB MIYAHARA

Board President

  • Bob is currently YCS board president. As a student, he participated in a variety of service programs and joined the YCS board because of the similarities between YCS and the programs in which he participated.

ELLEN RUDY

Board Member

  • Ellen shares her marketing expertise and nonprofit network resources to help YCS better communicate our impact. Ellen brings deep branding experience working with business as well as the non-profit organizations.

ROMY SALONER

Board Member

  • Romy Saloner is an executive, operating at the intersection of healthcare and technology. She has brought her passion for increasing access to high-quality care to roles across the industry, most recently as the COO for Brightline, a virtual mental health solution for kids, teens, and their families. She lives in San Francisco, with her energetic puppy.

NICOLAS SERE

Board Member

  • Nicolas currently works at a tech company in Silicon Valley and specializes in strategic and corporate finance. He has extensive experience consulting for multinational corporations, investment banks, and law firms.

Our Stewards

LEIF ERICKSON

  • Leif served as YCS executive director from 2004-2020. Before that, he worked for over 20 years in corporate marketing in Silicon Valley with biotech and technology firms. Leif began volunteering with YCS in 1995 as a parent supporter.

LINDA LENOIR

  • Linda is a retired district nurse for the Palo Alto Unified School District. She has served as a member of the YCS board of directors for over a decade.

BARBARA HARRIMAN SPRENG

  • Barbara has served on the YCS board since 2006, as well as the board for Habitat for Humanity (SF) from 2009-2015. She was also a member of the Bay Area Regional Board of Advisors for Facing History and Ourselves from 1999-2011.