Nadia Hefni Foster

Community Board Member, June 2026 

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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 

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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.

 

Shawn Wain-Ku, Vice President

Parent Board Member, June 2026 

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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.)

 

 

 

 

Megan Winter, Secretary

Parent Board Member, June 2025

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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.