BOARD of TRUSTEES
Steven Lei
Co-President
Steven Lei is a public sector leader and provides expertise on operations, human resources, and organizational strategy. He is a senior professional specializing in finance and business resilience with the Federal Reserve System. Previously, Steven held key positions with the University of California System, and with AVID, a prominent educational program focused on college readiness for underserved students. Steven is an active civic leader and serves on several other non-profit boards. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of California, San Diego, and has completed executive education at the Yale School of Management.
Saiqa Anne Qureshi, PhD MBA
Co-President
Dr. Qureshi is a research leader who manages organizational change, finance, HR, administration and communication, as well as writing policy and creating structure to support strategy. She is a doctorally trained social scientist with a current research portfolio and professional development program focused on organizational development. She has held a number of strategic positions internationally in higher education in both Europe and the United States. She has previously managed large-scale dissemination of research, post-doctoral fellowship programs, and operationalizing research programs. She is currently the Manager of Analysis for the Controller's Office at UCSF, where she manages the research post award portfolio of $1.6 billion annually. She is a graduate of UC San Diego, Oxford University, The University of Nottingham and Imperial College London.
Nicole Barker
Executive Director
Nicole Barker is a restorative educational leader that values building a learning environment that is rich in academics, guides in social emotional learning and creates self sufficiency in students, all to be able to reach one’s capacity to thrive in our complex world. She has worked as a general education and special education teacher, an adjunct professor for Loyola Marymount University, and the director of special education and student services. Leading communities to belonging, equity, and cultural responsiveness with policies, school structures, values, instructional practices, and parent and student involvement. As the executive director of The Phillips Academy she roots her leadership in partnerships, collaboration and a collective action, with staff, students and families, towards set goals, as she believes are the fundamentals needed to create an environment to strengthen educational practices that best serves students in their academics, behavior, mental health, and immediate needs. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a graduate degree in special education from the University of Colorado, Denver.
Elizabeth Isono
Board Secretary
Ms. Isono, MSOTR/L is an occupational therapist currently in private practice in the East Bay Area with an undergraduate degree in neuropsychology from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree from Stanford University. Currently, she provides service to children, adolescents, and young adults with varying diagnosis impacting their functional performance at school, home or in the workplace. She works privately and also contracts with multiple schools throughout the Bay Area. Ms. Isono has been practicing since 1980, and her experience has dealt with children and adults with varied diagnosis in acute care, rehabilitation, educational and outpatient services. Her philosophical approach is based on the understanding of the neurologic, physiologic, motoric, sensory, and social cognitive aspects of a client, collaborative work with the team is essential to the multidisciplinary approach that she feels best supports her clients’ development. Ms. Isono has spent time presenting at conferences, publishing papers and writing chapters in books specific to educating therapists. Her patient/client contact includes working at Stanford Hospital for over 10 years, as well as with individuals at multiple hospitals in Southern California.
Liz has taken this vast experience and applied its foundational knowledge to her current work, which primarily addresses students’ functional and educational needs. Liz has worked to educate teachers, staff and parents in surrounding communities about sensory processing and its impact on learning, execution and functional level of independence.
Allan Chatman
Dean of Students and Board Staff Representative
Mr. Chatman has been working at The Phillips Academy for 27 years. He began his career as a teaching assistant and became an active, contributing member to the high school program as a special education teacher shortly thereafter. In addition to providing instruction in English and the Social Sciences, Allan coaches football, co-leads the Student Council, and serves as a mentor to many of The Phillips Academy students.
Donn Merriam
Trustee
Mr. Merriam is a licensed architect with over 20 years experience in school building design and construction. One of his most recent projects was the replacement and campus enhancement of West Contra Costa County's DeAnza High School. He has recently been elected to the Emeryville School Board and is participating in the development of Emeryville's new Center of Community Life, a very innovative use of space for the housing of a K - 12 school, and community-based health and recreational faculties for all ages.
Alison Fingerut
Board Parent Representative
Alison Fingerut, MSOTR/L is an occupational therapist currently in practice with Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) specializing in pediatrics birth to three years old. Prior to CCCOE, she worked for Contra Costa Children’s Services (CCS) and contracted with Golden Gate Regional Services. She has an undergraduate degree in Human Development from UC Davis and a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Columbia University. She has been practicing in the bay area in various capacities since 1994. She previously sat on the board of directors for Behavioral Intervention for Autism (BIA) in Emeryville for 6 years. She has 2 children, Amanda (18) at Acalanes High School and Steven (15) who currently attends The Phillips Academy.
Taka Yokoyama
Treasurer
Taka Yokoyama has a background in project management and public speaking, and is currently a consultant at Navint. He specializes in the Lead-to-Revenue operations and technology of B2B enterprises. He is also a classically trained and licensed civil engineer with experience designing campuses for physical security. He is the former Chair of the Structural Engineers’ Association of Northern California’s Disaster Emergency Services Committee, working with the California Office of Emergency Services in coordinating post-disaster building safety assessments. He’s earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and his MBA from The Wharton School.
Micheal Enright
Trustee
Michael Enright has a background in policy analysis and works as a Research and Budget Analyst at Provident Credit Union. He double majored in economics and political science at Santa Clara University and has a masters degree in politics from the University of Oxford, UK. He is also a California native and returned to the Bay Area in 2012, starting his credit union career in 2013. Outside of work, Michael enjoys open water rowing on San Francisco Bay.
Courtney Groden
Trustee/Deputy Treasurer
Ann Kawamoto
Trustee
Ann Kawamoto is an experienced professional in the non-profit sector and currently works for a public-serving agency that supports programs that provide respite childcare. Previously, she was a systems engineer at Bank of America. Ann is a graduate of McGill University with a degree in Humanistic Studies. She is the parent of two children who attended Oakland public schools. Ann has been a volunteer at the Asian Art Museum, the Oakland public schools, and various youth music programs in the East Bay.
To contact the Board of Trustees directly, please email us at trustees@thephillipsacademy.org
For general school information and admissions inquiries, please go to Contact Us.
