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Members of the Board's Finance Committee at work on the annual budget

Board of Directors

Matt Alexander, President
Matt is co-director of the June Jordan School for Equity, a small, innovative public high school in San Francisco. He has over a decade of experience as a teacher and administrator in urban schools and also spent two years as educator-in-residence at Linda Darling-Hammond's School Redesign Network at Stanford University. He and his wife Laura Hodder live in the Outer Sunset and are parents of twins in second grade at CACS.

Teresa Arriaga, Treasurer
Teresa is the director of the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) at the University of California Berkeley. EAOP engages first-generation college-bound students and their families in preparing for college admissions. Teresa has twenty years professional experience in education and youth development, working primarily with low income students and students of color. Teresa is a native San Franciscan and a proud mother of a CACS third grader and kindergartener.

Ellison Folk
Ellison is an environmental attorney who represents environmental groups, community organizations, and public agencies throughout California. She and her husband Stuart Yater have two boys at CACS. Ellison previously served on the board of directors of Save San Francisco Bay Association. In her free time, she loves to cook — especially dessert.

Roberta Fudim
Roberta is the general manager of a leading restaurant in San Francisco's Financial District. She has an MFA in film, video, and performance, and her professional experience and artistic work have focused on motivating people to take personal and political action. Roberta is the mother of a CACS second grader.

Ross Hammond
Ross works as an independent consultant providing grantmaking, advocacy, strategic planning, policy analysis, communications, and facilitation services to foundations, NGOs, multilateral organizations, and government agencies. Ross and his wife are parents of a CACS first grader and a preschooler. They live in the Sunnyside neighborhood of San Francisco.

Bob Kayne, Secretary
Bob is an editor and IT consultant working for a variety of nonprofits, schools, and small businesses. He serves on the board of a Zen monastery and the monastery's nonprofit public benefit organization, which is working to transform Kantolomba, Ndola, Zambia, a slum of 11,000 people, from a place without water, food, jobs, medical care, or schools into a self-sustaining village. Bob is the father of a CACS fourth grader.

Isabelle McDaniel, Faculty Representative
Isabelle teaches 1st grade at Creative Arts. She received her MA in education and teaching credential from Mills College and has taught in several urban charter schools. She is interested in building partnerships with higher education institutions and other community organizations focused on supporting the arts in education. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer with the Golden Gate Women's Soccer League, cycling, swimming, and water color painting.

Cat Montes
Cat has worn many hats over several years from patient care, real estate, entertainment, event planning and promotions. Her new role is as a Senior Administrative Associate at Genentech, Inc. She is the super busy mom of 3 (ages 16, 13 and 10). On top of serving on the board for CACS she also is a Member of the Parent Guild at Immaculate Conception Academy. In her "spare time" she sings with the Embassy Christian Center choir and is a Polynesian Dance Instructor. Her oldest daughter is a CACS alumni and her other children are in the 5th and 8th grades.

Maria Ray
Maria has worked as an event planner and casting agent. At Creative Arts she has been active in facilities improvements, enrollment and outreach, and fundraising. Maria also represents the school as a "parent ambassador" with Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco. She is the mother of a CACS third grader and Kindergartner.

Melina Selverston-Scher
Melina is a Program Officer for the Goldman Environmental Prize at the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. She works on environmental and human rights issues around the world, with extensive experience in Latin America. She was the founding director of the Amazon Alliance, and has worked for a number of non-profit organizations. She and her husband Eddie Scher play edgy ragtime music with their band, Parlor Tricks. They moved from New York in 2008 and are thrilled to have the Creative Arts community for their second and fourth graders.

Samantha Smith
Samantha is the founder of Samantha Smith Productions, a corporate event planning company. Before starting her own company, she was at Gap, Inc. for 13 years where she helped create Old Navy. Samantha and her family live in Potrero Hill. In her free time she likes to take photos.

Bryce Sutherland
Bryce is a compliance manager with more than 20 years of banking/finance experience, and manages staff in San Francisco and Charlotte, North Carolina. He facilitates internal board of director meetings, routinely works with senior executive managers and regularly meets with government regulatory agencies during yearly audit examinations. He holds an advanced degree in Public Management & P olicy.