Board of Directors

Maria Ungermann, President, received a Bachelor of Science in Design from the University of California, Davis. She completed coursework toward an MBA at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In Maria’s most recent job, she developed new business at a commercial interior design firm specializing in Healthcare design. Prior to that, she owned a Spanish instruction business. She has also worked for a telecommunications company where she held various positions including Marketing Manager, Product Manager and Account Executive. Maria and her husband recently moved back to Davis for its schools. They currently have children attending Davis public schools. Maria teaches the Bravo Music Program in her children’s classrooms. She also supports the Neighborhood Watch program in her community.

Kari Fry, Vice President

John Ferrera, Secretary, and his wife, Anna, moved from Washington, DC, back to the home of her Alma Mater and home of his brother and sister-in-law to raise their children. The biggest reason for their choice of Davis is their commitment to placing their children in a public school system where they would receive a first class education. While John works daily attempting to guide our State policy to provide the kind of education that all of California’s children need to succeed in today’s competitive world, that commitment starts at home. John feels that our schools are our most valuable community resource. They were among the first to join the dollar a day effort upon the formation of DSF and he is pleased now to be part of the team that can contribute more directly to the DSF effort.

Jeff Dale,  Treasurer, is a CPA with 16 years of experience who specializes
in consulting services to nonprofits and small businesses. He worked for a
Big Four and a large local CPA firm before starting his own firm, Arroway
Professional Services, Inc. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s
degree in linguistics, then earned his MBA at CSU Chico, where he continues
to serve on the advisory council for the accounting department. He and his
wife have lived in Davis since 2005 and have three children.

Susan (Susie) Ford, Financial Secretary, has lived and worked in Davis for 37 years. She attended Heald Business College and then worked at UC Davis for 14 years before continuing her studies at UCD. Once her son reached school age, she became involved in his school and sports activities. She served as PTA president at North Davis Elementary as well as chair of the NDE School Site Council and scrip coordinator at Leonardo da Vinci High School. Susie has worked for the Davis school district for 13 years as a substitute for elementary school site secretaries. She and her husband have two children who attended Davis schools starting at DPNS and graduating from Davis Senior High and da Vinci. In her spare time she enjoys sleuthing out her family’s genealogy as well as traveling and spending time at their family cabin in the Sierra.

Robert Woolley, Immediate Past President, graduated with an Economics degree from University of California, Davis. He is an accountant at Carbahal and Co., a well respected firm in Davis. Currently Robert is also the President for Progress Ranch Children’s Services and has been on that board since 2004. Robert grew up in Alameda and moved to Davis in 1993. He has a wife and two children, a five year old daughter and a two year old son.

Kirk Alexander, Board Member and Director for Information Technology, received a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University in 1972 in Art History and a Master of Science and Engineering from Princeton in 1995. Kirk and his family arrived in Davis four years ago from Princeton where he was the Director of the Educational Technologies Center. Today he is a Program Manager for Information and Educational Technology at the University of California, Davis. He has worked in various volunteer groups and is currently the Treasurer of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Association. Kirk and his wife Joan Ogden work at UC Davis. They are the parents of two daughters: a graduate of Davis Senior High School and a senior at DHS.

Alan Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Economics Management from Beloit College in 1986. Alan has been Director of Development for Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California since July 2007. Prior to Shriners Hospitals, he worked in Development for UC Davis Health System for four years, serving as the Development Officer for UC Davis Children’s Hospital when he departed. Prior to that, Alan was a freelance writer and marketing/fundraising consultant (for seven years while his children were young), allowing him the flexibility to serve as a volunteer coach in a number of sports and a volunteer PE instructor for a number of years at Patwin Elementary. Alan’s thoughts on children are “All children are born with gifts, talents and potential – not just the children of privilege. At the same time, our future as a capitalistic democracy means we are all interdependent upon each other as contributors to both our societal enterprise and our culture. The quality of public education influences the potential ceiling of our overall accomplishment as a society — providing the less fortunate with opportunities to rise, achieve and lead. At the same time, intermingling children of all socio-economic backgrounds teaches children to value diversity, evaluate their peers based on virtues of kindness, gifts, talents, generosity and friendship; not just on demographic characteristics.” Alan and his wife, Staci Anderson have lived in Davis for 20 years. He has two children, a daughter who is a graduate of Da Vinci HS and a son who is at Davis Senior High School.

Janet Berry, Co-founder and Past President, graduated with a BA in Business Administration and Marketing from CSU, Stanislaus. She is currently the Director of Development for Graduate Studies at UC Davis. She previously worked as a marketing consultant in Davis. Prior to relocating to Davis in 2002, she held positions as a commercial and real estate loan officer and Vice President for Chase Manhattan in Seattle and Beverly Hills. She co-founded Davis Schools Foundation in 2004 and served as its president from 2005-2008. In 2008, she co-chaired the successful Measure W Parcel Tax campaign. She has been active in education non-profit foundations since 1990. From 1990 to 2000, she served on the Board of Evergreen Children’s Association (ECA), which provides before and after school care to public school children in Seattle. Her tenure with ECA included two years as board president of the non-profit. Janet also served on the development board of a K-8 private school in Seattle that successfully established an endowment fund and completed a $4 million capital campaign for school renovation. Janet previously served as Pioneer’s PTA president and co-chaired their first auction that netted over $70,000. Janet and her husband Rex have two children, a daughter at Harper Junior High and a son at Davis High School.

Frank Giustino

Michelle Holt graduated with an English degree from the University of California Irvine. She completed the teacher education program at the same university and earned a California teaching credential in secondary education. She has over 14 years of teaching experience in cities such as El Toro, Santa Ana, Patterson, and Monterey She served as department chair in both Patterson and Monterey. In 2001 Michelle was voted “Most Inspirational Teacher”. Many of her former students are now UC Davis alumni! While in Monterey, she worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as an information desk volunteer, she was a School Site Council member, and a graduate of the Monterey Police Department Citizen’s Academy. She moved to Davis in 2005 with her husband and daughter. She became a teacher-parent for three years, as well as a substitute teacher, for the Davis Parent Nursery School while her daughter attended school there. She works from home seasonally, scoring online essay exams. She is an active member of the Birch Lane PTA, Montessori Parent Advisory Committee, Book in a Bag program, Bravo music program; and currently volunteers at the school’s library each week. Her daughter is a first grader in the Birch Lane Montessori program.

Sean M. Langley received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University in 1991 and a MBA from University of San Francisco in 1998. He currently works as a Financial Advisor and Wealth Manager at Smith Barney in Sacramento. Prior to joining Smith Barney, Sean was an Institutional Sales Consultant for several nationally know Investment Management firms. In addition to the Davis Schools Foundation, he is a volunteer and Board Member of the San Diego State Aztec Rugby Foundation. A native of the Bay Area, Sean and his family moved to Davis in 1999. Sean and wife Sandy have four children; a daughter at Harper Junior High, two daughters at Cesar Chavez elementary and a pre-K son.

Susanna Mould received a Bachelor’s Degree in History from UC Santa Barbara in 1980, and a Master’s Degree in teaching English as a Second Language and a Secondary Education credential from San Francisco State in 1985.  She taught ESL at all levels from junior high through community college, in the Bay Area and abroad. Susanna left teaching to obtain a law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law in 1991; after which she enjoyed a rewarding career that included a number of years serving as legal counsel to school boards in in New York, New Jersey and California.  Susanna has lived in Davis since 2005.  She has a daughter attending Emerson Junior High and a daughter attending Davis High School. She is passionate about the opportunities our children enjoy in DJUSD’s exemplary arts, academic, and counseling programs, and hopes her DSF service will contribute to preserving these programs, and limiting or reducing class sizes in all our schools.

Karen Steidler

Elaine Talley holds a Bachelor of Science from U.C. Berkeley, and a Master of Education and a Law degree, both from U.C. Davis. A graduate of Davis Senior High School, she is a professional mediator, mediating cases involving special education, employment issues, disabilities, vocational rehabilitation, partnerships and business disputes. Her professional experience also includes three years serving as the Institute for Administrative Justice Mediation Coordinator at McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. In that position, Ms. Talley oversaw the California Special Education Hearing Office mediation system. In addition, she designed and supervised the implementation of two new mediation systems in California; one providing mediation for the Regional Centers and the developmentally disabled people they serve, the other providing mediation for the California Department of Rehabilitation and the people they serve. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the Association for Conflict Resolution. She is also on the panel of mediators for the Yolo County Courts, the State Employee Mediation Program and California’s Third District Court of Appeals. Elaine has served as President of the NDE PTA. She and her husband, Jeff, have three sons attending three Davis Schools: North Davis Elementary, Holmes Junior High School and DaVinci High School.