Our board of directors is comprised of nine parents and community members who serve voluntarily for two-year terms.
Chris Summers, President
Parent Board Member, June 2025
Parent Board Member, June 2024
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
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
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
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.
Shawn Wain-Ku
Parent Board Member, June 2024
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.