Ali Baird

Board Chair

A passionate advocate for education and Larchmont Charter School, Ali Baird is a founding parent who has taught multiple grades in both public and private schools including 1st grade and middle school English and Social Studies. She left teaching to work for the non-profit Engaging Schools, which helps schools develop improved discipline practices, better engage students and implement advisory programs, and supports schools with programs on bullying, peer mediation, conflict resolution and diversity.

Ali is currently a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master’s in Applied Psychology from Antioch University. She has counseled adults, children, couples and families at The Southern California Counseling Center and supervised teenagers at TeenLine, a peer-to-peer crisis hotline. Ali graduated from Groton School in Massachusetts, and she received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, where she focused on the effects of social justice and diversity on education.

Jesse Noonan

Board Vice Chair

Jesse Noonan is the Chief Academic Officer for Ednovate Charter Schools, a network of high performing personalized college preparatory high schools in South LA, East LA, and Santa Ana.  

Jesse has over 20 years of experience in education, working in a variety of roles all focused on ensuring equitable academic outcomes and closing opportunity gaps for all students.  She holds a BA from Barnard College and a Masters of Arts in Teaching as well as an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from Loyola Marymount University. She lives in Echo Park with her husband and two sons. 

Jeremy George

Board Treasurer

Jeremy George is an assurance partner in PwC's Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) practice, where he serves as an engagement partner and business adviser for alternative investment funds and SEC registered investment companies. He also has experience serving PwC's higher education clients, which maintain significant endowments that invest in a variety of strategies, and has national practice roles leading PwC's AWM staff learning and development program, overseeing its AWM-specific standardized audit programs, and in certain people and technology transformation initiatives. Jeremy is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California and New York. He has two daughters attending LCS Hollygrove.

Frances Hoge

Board Secretary

Frances has over 20 years experience as a Brand manager, combining strong marketing and management skills to create profitable and compelling consumer brands. Her senior executive roles include Communications, Business Development, Creative Content, and Corporate Strategy, and span Fortune 500, mid-range and entrepreneurial settings. Most recently, Frances led the marketing team for Quickoffice, the highest-grossing worldwide app on the iPad®, which was subsequently acquired by Google. She continues to run an Independent Marketing firm, partnering with clients who want to seize market opportunity and achieve results in a rapidly evolving environment. Her non-profit work includes serving on the Board of multiple youth sports organizations, focusing on increasing access and opportunity for urban youth. Frances graduated from UCLA with Honors with degrees in Communication and Psychology, and received her MBA from Wharton.

Collette Williams Alleyne

Board Member

Collette Williams Alleyne, Senior Director of Education, has 18 years of experience in alternative and arts education. Currently, she serves as the Senior Director of Education at Inner-City Arts, in which she oversees all arts instruction programs for K-12 students. Previously, Collette served as the Director of Instruction for Opportunities for Learning and Options for Youth, where she established partnerships with schools to provide students with summer programs to reduce summertime learning loss. Collette joined Opportunities for Learning in 2004 and achieved several promotions in her tenure, having served as: Academic Recovery Teacher, Area Curriculum Advisor, Assistant Principal, Regional Supervisor, and Educational Programs Project Coach. Collette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education with a Multiple Subject Credential from the University of New Orleans, a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Pepperdine University, and a Clear California Administrative Credential. Before moving to California, Collette was an Instructor for New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, NOCCA|Riverfront, and Adjunct Instructor at Dillard University of New Orleans.

Dulari Amin

Board Member

Dulari is co-Founder at Synergy Ventures, a venture-fund and strategy think-tank. She invests in and is an advisor to mission-driven early stage and growth companies in consumer products and services, health-tech, and healthcare. Previously, Dulari was co-Founder and President of Phenomenon, a brand strategy and creative agency. Dulari boot-strapped the company to over 120 employees. Her clients included some of the most recognized brands in the world. During her 10-year leadership, the agency won several awards—The Webby, Clio, and Cannes Lion. The company was featured in Ad Week’s Agency 3.0 list, in Inc. 500, and recognized as LA’s Top 100 Digital Companies. In 2016, she was recognized as one of LA’s top entrepreneurs by Los Angeles Business Journal, and received a congressional honor for her contributions as entrepreneur in California. Dulari graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and from Harvard Business School.

Dulari is a passionate advocate of education and socio-economic empowerment. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Woodbury University, a top 50 regional college with 26 graduate and undergraduate majors and nationally ranked programs in media, business and architecture. She also serves on the board of Beyond Capital, a social impact fund investing in India and East Africa, with a net-positive impact on 5.7M people living below the poverty-line. She previously served on the Young Leaders Council for the Milken Institute. In the past two decades, she has dedicated her time and resources to non-profits, such as American India Foundation, Akshaya Patra, and Step-Up.

Jennifer Berry

Board Member

Jennifer Berry is the Chief Operating Officer at After-School All-Stars, a national nonprofit organization that supports transformative educational and enrichment programming to nearly 90,000 low-income youth across the country. Jennifer oversees the strategic direction and effective implementation of local and national operations and human resource infrastructure to support these efforts.

Jennifer has more than 20 years of management experience, focused primarily on talent development, business development, education management, and operations. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Quantum Learning Network, an organization that collaborates with school districts across the country to accelerate their current initiatives and create a high-performance culture of student success.  Jennifer was also previously the Vice President with SCORE! Educational Centers, Kaplan Test Prep (K-12 and College Prep), Kaplan Bar Review, and Quantum Learning Education. Jennifer’s passion for education comes in large part from her grandmother, who was an award-winning teacher in New York and continues to be fueled by her daughter, Jyla and love of lifelong learning.

Jennifer holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Arizona and an M.P.A. from California State University, Fresno. She is personally dedicated to youth education, live theater, dance, and various activist groups. Jennifer is a strategic and operating consultant for Quantum Learning Education, a certified Gyrotonic instructor, currently serves on the Board of Directors for the West Valley Playhouse (WHCT) as well is the lead choreographer for the theatres musicals, and is the casting director for MOXIE Theatre in San Diego as examples of her further commitment to her passions.

Luis Carbajo

Board Member

Luis Carbajo is the School Climate Assistant Director at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center. In this capacity, Luis manages the School Climate Transformation Grant (SCTG) awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. The School Climate grant aims to help identify current practices that promote school culture and climate and develop a framework of multi-tiered system of supports that will support all students and teachers at Vaughn campuses.

Previously, Luis was the Director of Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood with Youth Policy Institute (YPI). He managed the operation of the initiative at eight partner schools in East-Hollywood, Westlake, and Pico-Union and was responsible for program reporting with the Department of Education. In his earlier years, Luis managed the operation of a Full-Service Community Schools grant and out-of-school-time programs at eight schools also with YPI. Before joining YPI, Luis worked at CSU Northridge and Upward Bound as an instructor of STEM subjects including Calculus and Physics for eight consecutive summers upon obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering. Luis Holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from CSU Northridge which he completed with honors and serving as the Chair of the University Student Union.

While attaining his college degrees, Luis volunteered with his professional society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for six years, served as Chair for a two-year term, and delivered the student commencement speech at his graduation. Currently, he serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Hispanic Serving Institutions Program at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at CSU Northridge. Luis lives in Sylmar with his wife and two sons.

 Ben Howell

Board Member

Ben Howell is General Counsel at Caruso, a privately held real estate development company based in Los Angeles.   Mr. Howell oversees Caruso’s legal affairs, representing the company and collaborating with its outside counsel on business and real estate transactions and litigation and land use matters. Prior to joining Caruso, Mr. Howell was an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP and served as a law clerk to Hon. Harold Baer, Jr. of the Southern District of New York. Mr. Howell is a graduate of Stanford University and UC Berkeley School of Law. Mr. Howell is also on the board of The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a non-profit dedicated to developing urban parks and community gardens in underserved neighborhoods in greater Los Angeles.

Rebecca Hutchinson

Board Member

Rebecca Hutchinson has 20 years’ experience in public relations and marketing communications. Most recently, she has consulted with several non-profits and start-up organizations, developing and executing short- and long-range communications programs. Her specialty is cause-related communications. Previously, Rebecca developed and managed broad, strategic communications plans as vice president at JS2 Communications, a bi-coastal firm focused on lifestyle, entertainment and F&B (food and beverage) public relations. Prior to joining JS2Communications , Rebecca worked at Porter Novelli, a top ten global public relations agency, and also worked as a consultant. Rebecca earned a B.A. in English and Fine Arts from Amherst College and a M.A. in Communications Management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. She has served as communications and outreach advisor to the Larchmont Schools since 2005 and has been a member of the Board of Directors on and off since 2005.

Steven Kim

Board Member

Steven has over 17 years working in the financial industry specializing in wealth management and planning. He is currently the Senior Financial Consultant at TD Ameritrade in Beverly Hills. He grew up and went to school in Los Angeles.  He attended University of Pennsylvania for engineering and then switched to complete his B.A and Licentiate in Philosophy while living and studying in Europe.   

Steven has worked several years with an international non-profit organization dedicated to the education and development of youth and family. For over 15 years he has been an active collaborator in the financial education of engaged couples. He was an Officer of Military and Hospitaler Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, a world-wide charitable group dedicated to help leprosy.  Steven has served as the head of the Korean Parents Association at LCS for 3 years and is the current Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 145 (a 95 year old troop) in Little Tokyo.

An avid foodie, a semi-professional photographer, and a classically trained musician (clarinet), Steven is a 7^th year LCS dad whose 3 children currently are students at Hollygrove and Selma.

Neil Parris

Board Member

Neil Parris leads Google's AR & Lens content efforts across the media and entertainment verticals, partnering with world-class IP owners and talent to develop and distribute innovative content experiences across Google’s platforms. Parris is a member of the TV Academy and served on the Digital Strategy Committee in FY2018. Parris holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Film / TV Producing from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts' Peter Stark Program.

Skye Patrick

Board Member

Skye Patrick was appointed LA County Library Director on February 1, 2016. She has held leadership roles at Broward County, Queens Public Library, and San Francisco Public Library. Ms. Patrick manages the Library’s $201 million annual budget and is responsible for the operation of the Library’s 87 libraries and a 15-vehicle mobile fleet, serving 3.4 million residents in a 3,000 mile area.

Ms. Patrick is committed to break down barriers and increase access for all, she introduced the iCount equity initiative, which ensures that library services and programs address the needs of the diverse community it serves. As the LA County Library Director, Ms. Patrick continues to reinforce the Library’s role in the community as a civic and cultural center, a hub for public information and services, and an institution of literacy, innovation, and lifelong learning.

Ms. Patrick was appointed to the Executive Board of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), in July 2017. In January 2019, Patrick was named Librarian of the Year by Library Journal, one of the most established industry publications.

Mario Perez

Board Member

Mario Perez serves as the Director of the Division of HIV and STD Programs for the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health where he is responsible for guiding a team of more than 320 employees and managing the annual investment of more than $105 million in local, State and federal resources that support the delivery of HIV and STD services through more than 70 partner organizations. He is a leader on State, local, and national HIV policy issues, serving as a past member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS in the Obama Administration, the Board of Directors of the National Minority AIDS Council, a member of the National Council of STD Directors, a member of the AIDS United Public Policy Committee and a member of the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV. Over the last 20 years, he has testified before Congress, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the Los Angeles City Council to address a range of HIV/AIDS issues, including the need for scientifically-proven interventions, adequate resources, and increased accountability. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from UC Berkeley and a Master of Public Health degree from UCLA. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and lives with his wife Karly and two sons Luca and Milo.

Scott Thomas

Board Member

Scott worked as a high school math/science teacher in New York City and East Los Angeles, and originally joined PCSD in the summer of 2007 as an Education Pioneers Fellow. He rejoined PCSD on a full-time basis as a Project Manager in April 2008, becoming Director of Finance & Operations in 2010 and then Chief Financial Officer in 2011. Scott holds a B.S. in Biology and Mathematics from Georgetown University, an M.S. in Cellular Biology from New York University, and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

We are profoundly grateful to our former Board Chairs for their exemplary leadership and unwavering commitment to our community:

• Heather Boylston
• Danny Corwin
• Kriste Dragon
• Alicia Lara
• Paulette Light
• Susan Lee
• Ben Paul
• Octavio Pescador, PhD
• Eugene D. Straub
• Lindsay Sturman