Alicia grew up in Southern California and graduated from the Hutchins School at Sonoma State University with a BA in Liberal Studies and a focus in Early Childhood Education. She taught preschool in Marin County until her oldest daughter was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two. Alicia began early intervention programs and was introduced to Dedication to Special Education (“DSE”) by her daughter’s first team of special educators. She began attending DSE’s sponsored Playtime at Marindale with her family and was honored to join the DSE Executive Board in 2017. Alicia chairs the annual Benefit Car Raffle and focuses on community outreach. In 2018, Alicia began a Special Needs Ministry at her local church where she paired volunteers with children with special needs. Alicia and her husband, Jean-Denis, live in Novato with their three girls, Elena, Emma and Evie. You can find her jumping on the trampoline with her girls, reading a good book and walking her dog Marshmallow.

Jenny has enjoyed working in the field of clinical research since 2000; at academic medical centers (UCSF), biotech start-ups, and large pharmaceutical companies (Genentech, Pfizer). She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont and an MS in Health Sciences from George Washington University. She currently manages a clinical research consulting practice which focuses in the therapeutic areas of oncology, rheumatology, and neuroscience. Jenny was honored to join the Dedication to Special Education Executive Board in 2017. She has previously volunteered her time to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Project Open Hand, and Girls on the Run. Jenny and her partner, Peter, are proud parents of Phillip (born 2012 with global developmental delays) and Greta (born 2016). Their family lives in Kentfield and love spending time together outside, especially at the beach.

Kira grew up on the east coast and graduated from Boston College with a BA in English and Communications. She worked in the corporate world for several years before realizing her passion to work with children and become a teacher. While completing a two year teaching internship at Town School for Boys in San Francisco, she earned her teaching credential and Masters in Teaching from the University of San Francisco. She spent the next eight years teaching 2nd and 5th grade at Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley. Kira was looking to connect to the special needs community when she found Dedication to Special Education. She joined the Executive Board in 2015. With parent connection in mind, she began the Playtime events at Marindale to provide a place for families to come together in a safe and supportive environment. She and her husband, Matthew, live in Corte Madera with their two boys who share the same birthday, four years apart! Hudson, her eldest, was born with a rare partial chromosomal duplication, causing global developmental delays. He continues to thrive in the special education system, adores his friends, and his little brother, Owen.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Keely attended Occidental College and San Francisco State University and holds a BA in Liberal Studies and an MS in Special Education from Dominican University of California. She began her career in recreation and has directed youth and family programs for the Town of Corte Madera, Bay Club Marin, UCSF, and continues to consult on improving inclusion in camps and recreational programs. Keely spent five years in university grants administration at SFSU and UCSF. She is a certified facilitator of Sibshops and provides support to siblings of people with disabilities. A former teacher, Keely now speaks in schools and to parent groups about disability awareness and inclusion. Keely was honored to join the Dedication to Special Education Executive Board in 2019 and applies her love of event planning to chairing the annual golf tournament fundraiser. Keely and her husband Mario live in Sleepy Hollow with their sons, West (born 2013) and Gus who has ASD (born 2015).

Maggie was born and raised in Marin. Her mother is a retired Marin public school teacher. Maggie holds a BA from Willamette University, BSN from Marymount University and MSN from the University of Pennsylvania. Maggie was a pediatric nurse and nurse practitioner caring for seriously ill children before leaving clinical practice to focus on nursing research. She is currently a PhD candidate in Nursing at Vanderbilt University. Maggie joined the DSE Executive Board in 2022, and chairs inclusion initiatives. She lives in San Anselmo with her husband Chris and twin preschoolers Baker (who is autistic) and Evelyn.

Sara hails from the midwest and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Michigan State University (go Spartans!). She moved to San Francisco shortly after graduating to pursue a career in Analytics and Data Science. She has worked in organizations such as GE, Macy’s, Microsoft, and WPP. Sara now works as Vice President of Analytics at Media Matters Worldwide, an independent, female owned advertising agency. Sara is brand new to the DSE Executive Board, but has enjoyed support, education, and friendship with many board members since 2017 when she and her family moved to Greenbrae from San Francisco. Sara and her husband Bobby are parents of Finn (born 2013) and Josie (born 2015). Josie has Au-Kline Syndrome, a rare genetic syndrome that causes global development delays. Their family loves to hike, ski, swim, cook, laugh, read, and nap on the weekends. 

Eliza was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University.  After college, she wrote for a travel book and headed to law school. She decided the law wasn’t for her, so she pivoted to advertising, landing a job in New York City on Madison Avenue. She worked there for several years before moving to San Francisco in 2008 to continue her career. She now leads marketing for the Real Estate team at Airbnb. Eliza joined DSE in 2023 after serving on the DEI committee of her local public school for two years. Eliza has also served on the board of the San Francisco Symphony and Little School of Mill Valley. She is mom to Lexi (10) and Leighton (8) and partner to Kevin (who grew up across the street from her!). Lexi has a genetic syndrome called Potocki Lupski that causes global developmental delays and connective tissue laxity. She also is autistic and has ADHD. Eliza’s family loves being active outdoors, particularly biking, hiking, skiing and swimming. She is honored to be a part of DSE. 

Lina grew up in Southern California and graduated with an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and later an MPH also from UC Berkeley. While living an adventurous life abroad in Santiago, Chile, post college, Lina worked in international development management consulting. She later returned to the Bay Area and continued working in international development and then corporate private investigation. She joined the DSE Executive Board in 2023 and is honored to join and learn from this group of strong advocates and parents. Lina and her husband Dave live in Tiburon and have three children, ages 5, 3, and 1.