Board Members
Our board of directors is comprised of seven parents and community members who serve voluntarily for two-year terms.
Chris Summers, President
Parent Board Member, June 2027
Parent Board Member, June 2026
Stacey Foster grew up in New Hampshire before moving to California where she attended Santa Susana Magnet High School for Performing Arts and Technology as well as Riverside Community College where she studied Human Genetics. She is currently a stay at home mother to her two children, a MATES alum and a current MATES student. Stacey has been very active in volunteering for the school in multiple capacities and also was previously part of the MCN Executive Board for 5 years. She is an advocate for inclusion and acceptance and will bring to the Board her passion for helping and supporting others. Stacey is looking forward to serving the school in this new role and can’t wait to help MATES be the best it can for our children!
Monique Foster, CFO
Community Board Member, June 2026
As a founding board member Monique brings a unique perspective to the current MATES Board. Monique has deep roots growing up in Ventura County, moving in 2005 with her family from Santa Paula to Thousand Oaks. The sole purpose was for her children to be educated in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Little did she know that two years later the school they attended, Meadows Elementary, would be closing. She joined a group of highly motivated parents and began a two year fight to keep the school open as a conversion charter school. With Monique's educational background in accounting, with additional experience in public school accounting, she oversaw the finance committee. Under her sharp fiscal guidance and leadership, MATES acquired essential grant funding that allowed the charter to welcome students to a fully furnished campus. After the historic charter approval, Monique became a member of the board from 2008-2013 as CFO and left the school in robust fiscal condition with a more-than-fully funded reserve account. When MATES first opened in 2009, two of her children were in 5th and 1st grade. Today they are seniors at California Lutheran University and Westlake High School, with an older sibling in her first year of pharmacy school. When not working as an accountant, Monique and her family can be found cruising the seas, relaxing at Lake Mohave, enjoying a snowy mountain or visiting the "Happiest Place on Earth."
Nadia Hefni Foster, Secretary
Community Board Member, June 2026
I am deeply honored to be appointed as a Community Member on the MATES Board of Directors. My decade-long association with MATES has profoundly impacted my family on many levels, and I am eager to give back and continue to provide value as an alumni parent.
During my time at MATES, I have served on the MCN Executive Board in various capacities. I began by co-chairing the annual benefit dinner and auction during my kindergarten year, and subsequently took on roles such as Volunteer Chair, Communication Chair, Marketing and PR Chair, and most recently, Alumni Advisor. Additionally, I have represented our Classes of 2020 and 2023 as the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) member, and continue to serve as the alumni representative where I am dedicated to fostering a strong and lasting connection between our school and its former students and families. My role involves engaging alumni in various school activities, encouraging their continued involvement, and creating opportunities for them to give back to the community that played a pivotal role in their early education. By promoting a vibrant alumni network, we aim to enrich the experiences of current students and maintain a supportive and involved school community long after culmination.
Professionally, my work life intersects with MATES as well. MATES is a Community Collaboration School Partner of California Lutheran University, where I oversee marketing for the graduate schools including the Graduate School of Education. This partnership is a wonderful collaboration to place CLU student teachers in MATES classrooms, fulfilling their experiential learning requirements. My undergraduate degree in Psychology from UCLA combined with my business degree from USC intersects two areas I use every day to navigate life both personally and within the work environment.
As MATES embarks on its next chapter of leadership, I am thrilled to join such an extraordinary and dedicated team. Together, we will not only uphold but elevate the standards of excellence, fostering the growth and success of our MATES students and community.
Grace Jiang
Parent Board Member, June 2026
Grace is a scientist and leader with 20 years of working experience in biotechnology
companies. She is currently the Vice President, Head of Regulatory and Clinical Quality at Amunix, A Sanofi Company and sitting on the company’s leadership team. Prior to that, she was the head of regulatory at Gracell Biotechnology and worked at Amgen Inc. for 15 years developing innovative medicines for patients with life threatening diseases.
Grace holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Riverside. She lives with her husband and daughter who attends MATES as a 4 th grader. Grace thinks MATES is a very special community and feels fortunate to be part of it. She believes that being involved and contributing is the key to a successful community. During her free time, she volunteers in the classroom and at school events as much as possible. She is passionate about using her skills to support MATES to achieve its mission and to continue its legacy.
Robert Weber
Parent Board Member, June 2027
Jen is a proud MATES parent and is honored to serve on the Board of Directors. She aims to support our community in fostering a learning environment where all can thrive.
Jen is the Director of Contracts and Corporate Counsel at Securitas USA, a leader in protective services and integrated technological solutions, where she negotiates significant contracts, counsels internal clients, and engages in active mentorship. Prior to Securitas, Jen worked as outside counsel, defending prominent aviation and aerospace clients in a variety of litigated matters, and in a compliance capacity at Amgen, where she served as WC&BE’s Integration Management Team Lead on multibillion-dollar acquisitions. She grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley, graduated from Lawrence University and Pepperdine School of Law, and now lives in Thousand Oaks with her husband, son, and pug. She has a passion for the arts, children’s literacy, baseball, and good food—and a penchant for unhinged party planning.