STAFF

Maria Dinard has been involved for four years in the Castro and Mistral’s PTA in various roles, including VP of Communications and PR and Room Parent Coordinator, ensuring the community receives information in both Spanish and English. She has enjoyed volunteering with the school’s Spanish reading programs. She has led several PTA sponsored community events. In a past life, Maria was a Montessori preschool teacher, managed the PR for a small local museum and for a marketing non-profit organization.

Makenzie Gallego is a Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker, with a specialization in school-based social work and mental health services. She has held positions with several school districts and non-profits, including the Redwood City Police Department, Sunnyvale Elementary School District, Rebekah Children’s Services, Ableworks, and, currently, Cupertino Union School District. She founded and chairs the Missions Board at Palo Alto Vineyard Church, which oversees all financial giving and volunteer efforts for the church. She also serves as a program consultant to Ableworks, volunteers with Project Cornerstone at Mistral School, sits on the regional planning committee for the California Society of Clinical Social Work, and serves with a leadership team coordinating an expansion into Palo Alto of a homelessness outreach program called Street Life Ministries.

Sarah Livnat served as president of Castro and Mistral Elementary Schools for two years and as the president of the Dual Immersion Advisory Board for one year. She has participated on two MVWSD task forces: the Castro Restructuring Task Force and the recent Student Attendance Areas Advisory Task Force. Sarah also has extensive experience working with policy makers, legislators, and regulators on topics of financial services for underserved communities with a focus on Latino low-income communities with her work in Government and Community Relations at Oportun, a provider of affordable, credit building loans for the underserved.

Tania O’Connell has served on the MVPNS board of directors, on the Gabriela Mistral Elementary School PTA, and on the Orchard Townhome Association board. She is a bilingual volunteer recruiter and organizer at the Castro and Mistral Elementary Schools and has chaired fundraising and cultural events in the MV-LA area.

Jill Rakestraw, our newly-appointed executive director, has served on several local nonprofit boards and currently serves on the Mountain View Educational Foundation board and as the President of the Monta Loma Neighborhood Association.

Katharine Rosenberry is a lawyer and was a law professor for 30 years. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards such as the San Diego Bar Association Foundation, the charitable arm of the Bar Association, and as President of the Community Associations Institute, a nonprofit that creates best practices for homeowner associations. In addition to numerous other publications, she wrote a course for homeowners to assist them in running homeowners associations and a facilitator’s’ guide for the course. The course is offered throughout the U.S. She has taught classes in England and China, has made presentations in seven countries, and has assisted both the California legislature and the English legislature in drafting laws.

Diana Wegbreit is a Marriage and Family Therapist and has spent her career at local mental health nonprofits, namely, EMQ Children and Family Services, Teen and Family Counseling Center, and Community Health Awareness Council, where she provided mental health assessment, case management, and therapy for children, adults, and families. She has volunteered regularly for the past five years on the Mistral/Castro campus as room parent, tour guide, and for school events.