Jenel Lim joined SMFCEF board in June 2022. She moved from San Diego to San Mateo in January 2018 with her husband and two young children. Their eldest son was halfway through his 1st grade year when they enrolled him at Laurel Elementary School. The Laurel community welcomed her son and entire family with open arms quickly making a strange place feel like home. Jenel joined Laurel’s PTA Board in the fall of 2019. Her eldest attends Abbott Middle School and her youngest is a student at Beresford.

Jenel has a BA in psychology with a minor in neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside. While working as a neuroscience research associate at the University of California,
San Diego, she went back to school and earned her masters degree in public health from San Diego State University. For over 15 years Jenel has worked as a public servant for county government helping communities address major public health issues such as childhood obesity, access to healthcare, food insecurity and homelessness. Raised with the value that education is the key that opens all doors, Jenel is excited to be working with the Education Foundation to help ensure every student in the San Mateo-Foster City School District has equitable access to a quality education that is provided in a safe, nurturing, and culturally inclusive environment that honors the whole child.

Christina Ogburn-Chow joined the SMFCEF board in June 2021. She has a son who attends Audubon Elementary School in Foster City where she previously served as Treasurer of the PTA. Christina currently works with other nonprofits as well, and brings that experience and expertise to the SMFCEF board.

Christina currently works as a technical program manager in Sales for Juniper Networks. She is responsible for managing multiple projects and activities to ensure that Juniper is able to meet the needs of their customers. Christina received her MBA from Santa Clara University and her B.A. from Auburn University.

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Annie Tsai joined the SMFCEF board as President in 2021 and has called San Mateo home since 2012. She and her husband have a son who currently attends Parkside Montessori, and a daughter who will soon be joining SMFCSD. Annie previously served as Vice President of the Parkside Montessori PTA Board.

Professionally, Annie is the chief operating officer at Interact and part-time venture partner with The House Fund. She is also a startup advisor, executive coach, published author, and board director. Annie received a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in New Media in 2001 and is a proud graduate of San Mateo County public schools. She believes in lifting up the community around her and currently sits on three San Mateo County commissions focusing on affordable housing, emergency medical services, and bicycle and pedestrian safety. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, painting, gardening, and mentoring the next generation of women leaders and entrepreneurs.

Elizabeth has lived in San Mateo since 2011 and joined the SMFCEF board of directors in June 2022. She has served as the Readathon co-Chair since 2022. She has two children, one at George Hall and one at Abbott Middle School. She is the former Vice President and President of PTA at George Hall. Elizabeth is a pediatric nurse practitioner at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and obtained her BS from the University of Virginia and MS from UCSF.

A Bay Area native, Niccolina "Coli" Mangroo has lived in San Mateo since 2015 and joined the SMFCEF board in 2022. She has three children, with the oldest at Fiesta Gardens. Coli is currently a senior manager at YouTube leading product equity work. Prior to this role, she spent over a decade working in education in a variety of capacities, from monitoring and evaluating international education systems with PISA and Teach for India, to teaching high school and grad school courses, to building education software. Coli received a BA in human biology from Stanford University and an MPA in education policy from Columbia University.

Marianne Wallace has lived in Foster City since 2007 and joined the SMFCEF board of directors in September 2019. She has four children, two of whom attend Bowditch Middle school and two attend Audubon Elementary School. She is an active member of both Bowditch and Audubon PTA boards.
Marianne is a former financial analyst and portfolio manager for a hedge fund in San Mateo. Prior to working at this hedge fund, she worked as a financial analyst at Franklin Templeton. Marianne is also a former executive board member of the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA, where she worked closely with the 49ers Foundation on their annual Bowl for Youth event. Marianne graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. in Psychology.

Sajitha Vinod joined the SMFCEF board in 2021 as Secretary. Sajitha has a longstanding relationship with Audubon Elementary, from serving on the PTA Board from 2007 to 2012 and volunteering as an Art in Action docent, to working as their Technology Coordinator. She has two daughters - the oldest graduated from Audubon Elementary and Bowditch Middle School, and her youngest daughter is currently at Bowditch Middle School.

Sajitha has a BA and Masters in English, as well as an Honors Diploma in Software Technology and System Administration. Born and raised in India, she moved to the US and has been living in Foster City since 2003. She started her career as a Lecturer at a polytechnic and became involved in designing and developing curriculum to suit the growing demands of the industry. She has also worked as a Program Implementation Lead for bringing technology into K-12 schools, training teachers, and teaching computer science. She currently holds a CTE Teaching Credential from U.C. Berkeley in Information and Communication Technologies, and is currently pursuing a Makerspace Certification from Foothill College.

Sajitha’s philosophy is to create a safe learning environment for all children to learn, explore, create, and reach higher standards of learning. Her goal is to steer students towards creativity, innovation, and a passion for continued learning regardless of where their careers take them in the future.

Dr. Christian J. Rubalcaba is an award-winning educator and school administrator who has devoted his life and profession to ensuring students receive a global, 21st-century, equitable education that is at once culturally relevant and academically challenging. Dr. Rubalcaba began his trajectory in public school education in 2010 as a Teach for America corps member and served as a bilingual teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal in San José, CA. Prior to his role as Director of School Leadership, he was the Principal of Laurel Elementary School and most recently Abbott Middle School here in San Mateo-Foster City School District (SMFCSD).
He was the recipient of the 2014 White House Hispanic Teacher Recognition, the San Jose Unified School District 2015 Teacher of the Year award, the San José Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce 2015 Teacher of the Year award, and the 2018 Franklin-McKinley School District Administrator of the Year for ACSA’s Region 8. Dr. Rubalcaba holds degrees from Harvard University, Purdue University, Loyola-Marymount University, and San Francisco State University. He also holds a National Board Certification in Literacy: English Language Arts earned through the National Board Resource Center at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and he received his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from San Francisco State University.

Dr. Rubalcaba is the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services. In the words of Dr. Rubalcaba, “Leadership is like gardening – in order to create an environment and the conditions for success, leaders must build a culture of growth and high expectations. Leaders constantly plant seeds, provide an abundance of water to nourish, and cultivate talent.” Dr. Rubalcaba is excited to be on the SMFC Education Foundation as a Board Member to help lift the voices of school community members and provide the best opportunities for all our students.

Nancy's journey began as a 10-year-old refugee in the United States, overcoming language barriers to earn degrees from UCLA and Stanford University. She is a published author and insightful commentator on educational matters in prominent publications. Honored to be a public servant, Nancy proudly serves in her 17th year in the field of education, while also cherishing her role as a parent within the San Mateo Foster City School District. With profound humility, she embraces growth, learning, relationships, and community service, treasuring the opportunities that being a part of the Ed Foundation has provided her.

Lauren Cummings joined the SMFCEF board in 2024.

Desmond Hua was invited to join the SMFCEF board as a student member in June 2023. He is an engaged student-athlete at Borel Middle School and an active member of the community. He is the founder of the Trash for Treats program that serves the schools in the SMFCSD with campus clean up projects. Additionally, Desmond is the co-founder of the H.O.P.E. (Help Our Planet Earth) Uniforms Program which aims to be a socially responsible and environmental organization that serves the local community by accepting and reusing children’s school uniforms, thereby helping families save money while curtailing textile wastes in the landfills. Desmond’s other interests include basketball, swimming, cross-country, track and field, and scouting. He was a cub scout while in elementary school where he earned his Arrow of Light Designation and is currently a proud scout member of Troop 42 San Mateo. Desmond is passionate about protecting our environment and helping the local community.

Maggie Trinh is the SMFC Board of Trustees appointed Ex-Officio board director for the school board term December 2023 - December 2024.

Superintendent Ochoa joined the district in July 2021. He has 22 years of educational experience as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, executive director, and superintendent. Superintendent Ochoa has a strong background in instruction, curriculum, special education, equity, student wellness, parent engagement, and building school facilities.

In 2012, Superintendent Ochoa joined the Esparto Unified School District in the Sacramento area. He served as the Director of Special Education and Superintendent until 2018. In Esparto, he developed long range academic plans and oversaw the development of greatly expanded Advanced Placement programs.

In the 2018–2019 school year, Superintendent Ochoa joined the Hollister School District (HSD). He led the district in developing quality special education services for children with autism. He oversaw major curricular adoptions and led a new early literacy small-group reading program. He also led efforts to coordinate new school configurations addressing struggles with overcrowded middle schools and a lack of classroom space at multiple sites. In 2021, Ochoa concluded the $52 million dollar campus built to serve up to 850 students.

Prior to his work at HSD, Ochoa served as high school principal, assistant principal, and elementary school special education teacher. Ochoa received his Bachelor of Arts, Teaching Credential, and Master of Arts in Education from California State University San Marcos, and also holds a Special Education Teaching Credential. Active in community associations, he has served as President Elect of the San Benito County Educational Leaders Association (ACSA), member of San Benito County League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and board member for Capay Valley Vision. Diego and his wife Hallie are parents to five children.

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