Board Members

Our board of directors is comprised of nine parents and community members who serve voluntarily for two-year terms.

Megan Winter, President

Parent Board Member, June 2023

Megan was born and raised in small town southern Minnesota. She attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota obtaining her BA in Biology and Theatre Arts before relocating to California to attend law school at Pepperdine University. Megan has worked in the field of insurance defense for the last 15 years, defending clients in various matters including habitability, real estate and personal injury litigation throughout California. Megan and her husband are the proud parents of three young children, two of whom are lucky enough to be current MATES students. Megan is excited to serve on the MATES Board of Directors with the goal of working to continue to move forward with assisting MATES in meeting its mission to welcome innovation, honor its past, transform the future, command achievement and empower all its students through education focused in arts and technology. Megan strongly believes that education is the foundation of our children’s future, and the years that they spend at MATES create solid building blocks that they need to move forward in their lives, education and beyond.

Frank

Frank DeVito

Parent Board Member, June 2024

[email protected]

Frank was born and raised in Chicago. He graduated from Illinois State University with a B.S. in Communication. He lived in New Orleans for a brief time before ultimately settling down in California. Frank has spent a large part of his career in the field of Human Resources and is currently the Chief People Officer at Cast & Crew Entertainment Services. He is passionate about helping others both personally and professionally. He lives his life by the principles of kindness, fairness, and inclusion. He and his spouse have twins at MATES and are thrilled to be part of the MATES family. Frank is honored to be serving on the MATES Board and is looking forward to contributing to the lasting legacy from which MATES was founded. Frank enjoys traveling, creating new memories with his family, and making pancakes with his kids on the weekends.

Monique Foster, CFO

Community Board Member, June 2024

m [email protected]

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."

Kerri Graver

Community Board Member, June 2024

[email protected]

Kerri is a true “Valley Girl” born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She earned her BA in Political Science from U.C. San Diego and obtained her Law Degree and Certification in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine School of Law. Following law school, Kerri worked as a Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney, first as a trial attorney and later as the head of the city’s anti-truancy program. After giving birth to her first child, she and her husband, Brian, moved to Ventura County where she obtained her Real Estate Broker’s License. Together they decided to make substantial career changes and formed The Graver Group, a team of local real estate experts. They have three children, all of whom have been fortunate to attend MATES, their youngest currently as a fourth grade student. Kerri has been an active volunteer for the last ten years at MATES and is thrilled to be a part of the Board of Directors as a final “thank you” to the school that has not only meant so much to her family, but has actually become a part of her family.

Sarah Schwendimann, Secretary

Parent Board Member, June 2024

[email protected]

Sarah believes in the mission of MATES and is delighted to help it achieve its goals and plans. Sarah is originally from Idaho but grew up in the Bay Area and has lived in Southern California since college. After graduating from Scripps College with a B.A. in English she received her Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara. She also completed a graduate fellowship at Queen’s University in Belfast. A tenured professor at Glendale Community College, Sarah is the Division Chair of the English and Humanities Division. Prior to that role she served as her college’s Curriculum Coordinator for seven years. Sarah is a contributing editor for the journal College Teaching and serves on site visit teams for the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges. Sarah lives with her husband and her son who loves being a “Mighty Eagle” and attending MATES. When not at work, Sarah loves spending time with her family and volunteering at MATES and for other organizations in the Conejo Valley.

Chris Summers, Vice-President

Parent Board Member, June 2023

[email protected]

Chris is the Vice President of Food Safety at Mission Produce, a local agricultural company. He leads global strategic initiatives like; microbiological sampling, crisis management, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), COVID response, sanitation, supply chain, regulatory compliance, and health and safety. In addition to this, he is the President/CEO of The Ventura County Food Safety Association, a local nonprofit bringing education and resources to the local food supply chain.

He grew up in Ventura County and was educated at California Lutheran University. He and his wife, Tamara, have 2 children at MATES and volunteer at the school as much as possible. He will support the vision of MATES using his experience and skills while building relationships with the various stakeholders. He’s honored to be on the Board and is excited to serve.

Thuan-Hau Trinh

Parent Board Member, June 2023

[email protected]

Born in Orange County to Vietnamese refugees, Thuan-Hau was among the first in her family to attend an American elementary school. Watching her parents navigate an unfamiliar educational system in the effort to obtain the best education for their children shaped her own search for an elementary school experience for her children. She feels very fortunate to have found a place for them at MATES. Her goal of serving on the MATES Board is to continue its mission and contribute directly to its guiding principle of creating an environment where every child can thrive so they can go forward with a solid foundation of academic excellence and a community spirit. Thuan-Hau graduated from UCLA with a BS in Biology and earned her MD from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in anesthesiology at USC and is a board-certified anesthesiologist. She practiced in Northern California as a cardiac and general anesthesiologist before moving back to Southern California with her family. She is proud to be a part of the MATES community and loves that her children look forward to going to school at MATES every day.

Shawn Wain-Ku

Parent Board Member, June 2024

[email protected]

Shawn was born in Ithaca, NY, to immigrant parents. His mother cried tears of anguish when he decided to attend Harvard University. (No, it doesn’t make sense. Feel free to ask him about it.) There, Shawn earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and, like a “good” Asian-American son, continued on to Columbia University medical school where he almost immediately deferred his education to pursue his passion for contemporary dance. His mother cried tears of despair. Shawn’s dance career brought him to Broadway where he performed in several Tony Award-winning productions. His mother only saw two of them. He then left the East Coast, earned his MFA in Cinematic Arts at USC, had a brief stint as the lead actor in an internationally acclaimed film, and began his current career as film writer and director. Somewhere in the midst of all of that, Shawn married and had 3 rambunctious children. His mother cried tears of joy. Shawn is excited to be a part of the MATES community and bring his experience in fundraising, urban-outreach, and teaching in higher education; his extensive knowledge of the professional arts; and his tireless work ethic to help the Board further its great work for our children. (Oh, and his mother still hopes that someday he’ll go back to medical school.)