Our Leadership

Karen founded Intrepid in 2008, and has been involved in philanthropy since 1997 through a predecessor organization. Her personal passion in philanthropy has centered around the idea of answering one question: “What can we do to make sure that great people go into the career of teaching and stay in the career?”

Prior to launching Intrepid, Karen was the founder and portfolio manager of an investment business based in Palo Alto, CA. Before her work in finance, she spent the first several years of her career as an engineer. Karen also worked for eight years as a volunteer music teacher at her local elementary school. Karen has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia, a Master’s Degree in Business from Vanderbilt University, and was a Fellow in the Stanford Distinguished Career Institute program. Karen is also an Advisory Board Member of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia.

I encountered my favorite teacher a few years ago while traveling on my path as a lifelong learner. Patricia Ryan Madson teaches a spectacular course in “Improv Wisdom” through Stanford Continuing Studies. Her gift of showing students how to be present, be attentive to others and make time for play and spontaneity have become a part of my everyday life.

David joined the Foundation in 2013. He spends his non-working time focused on creating and coaching a startup hub for college students, supporting non-profit entrepreneurs and education. Most recently, he co-created and taught a financial literacy class for high school students based on Warren Buffett’s business and investment philosophy. David also serves on the Endowment Committee at the Nueva School in Hillsborough and is on the Board of UpStart and Americans for Ben-Gurion University.

David co-founded Castle Peak Partners, an investment firm focused on early-stage technology investing, and is also operating a new quick-service restaurant concept. He previously co-founded Whirl Partners, which owned and operated franchises throughout California and nearby states. He is a co-founder of J-Ventures and serves on its Investment Committee and was previously a partner at Tandem Capital, where he focused on consumer and software businesses. Before these roles, he was the technology portfolio manager and then president of Standard Pacific Capital, a global asset management firm based in San Francisco. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and MBA from Harvard Business School.

My eighth grade history teacher first opened my eyes to the importance of challenging assumptions about familiar narratives of historical events. He taught me the value of understanding the author’s perspective and its role in shaping the interpretation of the events we were studying.

Jennifer has served as a Senior Advisor Board member for the Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation since 2017. With over 30 years of experience in public education, she is committed to creating and advocating for the conditions necessary for children to thrive both in school and in life.

Her career began as a first-grade teacher for multilingual learners in San Francisco Unified School District, and she has since held various roles in public schools and education nonprofits.

Currently, Jennifer is the Director of Programs at the Oakland Literacy Coalition (OLC), where she oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of program initiatives aligned with OLC’s mission. Before joining OLC, Jennifer spent five years consulting with school districts and nonprofits, focusing on educator preparation, development and retention, adult learning, and coaching. She also spent 13 years at the New Teacher Center in various leadership roles, where she led partnerships and programs in Bay Area school districts.

Jennifer holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from University of New Hampshire, a CA Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University, and a CA Director of Early Childhood Education Permit from Merritt College. Residing in Oakland with her partner and their dogs, Jennifer has also been an active volunteer puppy raiser and therapy dog handler with Canine Companions for Independence since 2011.

My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Tice, really showed me the value of knowing each and every student- as a person and as a learner. She truly made each student feel seen, heard, and cared for in her class. My love of books and storytelling stems from Mrs. Tice reading aloud to us each day.

Steve has been a Senior Advisory Board member to the Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation and its predecessor foundation since 1997.

Steve has had a varied career in public education over the last 36 years. He has served as a social studies teacher, assistant principal, and principal at a comprehensive high school in Mountain View, California. After serving at the school site for 18 years, Steve moved to the district office as the Associate Superintendent of Personnel and Technology. For 18 years in this capacity, he oversaw a wide variety of both professional development initiatives for teachers and technology projects for a high-performing California public high school district.

Since his retirement in 2013, in addition to his service on the Intrepid board, he is currently serving on the board of VIA (Cross-cultural educational programming related to service in Asia), as a mentor for high school and college students through MVLA Scholars, as a facilitator of labor negotiations in school districts and as a teacher of leadership skills to students  Steve received a BA in International Relations and MA in Education from Stanford University.

Among my favorite teachers was Sister Joan King. Her gifts to me as a high school student were patience, high expectations for who I would become and her ability to see that I was a work in progress. She knew when to lead me, when to follow and when to provide support in my educational journey. Her ability to ask the right, probing questions whether they were about the subject matter or about life choices was something I tried to copy in my own teaching career.

Taica Hsu is currently a National Board Certified English Language Development Teacher on Special Assignment with the Mountain View Los Altos High School District. Previously, he was a teacher on special assignment in the Secondary Multilingual Pathways Department in SFUSD where he supported secondary math teachers in multilingual classrooms and developed math and computer science curricula for SAILL, a nationally-recognized summer program for multilingual students. He also taught math at Mission High School in San Francisco for 13 years and high school Spanish in New Hampshire.

As department chair at Mission, he recruited a team that was predominantly teachers of color and dedicated to the principles of complex instruction and social justice. He was instrumental in convincing the San Francisco School Board to de-track math classrooms until the 11th grade, which has created more equitable learning environments for students of color in SFUSD. In his role as the San Francisco Program Lead with Trellis Education, Taica revolutionized the way STEM teachers are recruited, trained, and supported by employing research-based mentoring methods that focus on high-leverage teaching practices.

When he is not teaching, Taica enjoys training in the martial art, Tang Soo Do, where he holds a second-degree black belt, dancing in drag, and raising money for queer youth through his non-profit, Queens of the Castro. He also loves peacocks!

My high school math teacher, Ms. Yamano-Grey, made learning exciting, challenging, and thought-provoking. Her lessons built on each other seamlessly, and she was always available to answer questions and provide additional learning opportunities. She was my teacher for three years and greatly influenced my decision to become a high school math teacher.

Jenny has helped the Foundation to develop the LIGHT Awards program since 2010. She currently works in Santa Clara Unified School District as an instructional coach. Prior to this role, she spent seven years as a district ELA/ELD Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) and seven years working as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher at Ponderosa Elementary School. During that time, she received National Board Certification in Literacy and Language Arts, the PTA Golden Oak Award, and her California Administrative Credential.

Jenny also applied for and received grants for over $70,000 for resources, technology, and professional learning to improve the learning opportunities for students and teachers at her former school. Jenny graduated with a BA in Human Biology and MA in Education from Stanford University.

So many teachers have mentored and inspired me.  My 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Tsujimoto, sparked my love of poetry, reading, and writing.  He helped me see the beauty and importance of words.  When I teach writing to young students, his words echo in my mind.

Paula Mitchell is passionate about the promise of education as a liberatory tool and innovative pedagogy to support thriving students and teachers. Recognizing the importance of working with the hands, mind, and body to increase engagement and understanding, Paula has incorporated experiential learning practices from the beginning of her 25+ year career in education in Oakland.

Paula is intensely interested in learning and developing best practices; after 22 years in the elementary classroom, Paula transitioned to becoming a teacher leader at her site where she designed her school’s very first maker education/ project-based learning program and its makerspace.

Paula was the team lead of Grass Valley’s “Project Based Learning with a Maker Mindset” team, part of the 2016 LIGHT Awards cycle. She has served as a LIGHT Advisor since 2019.

In addition, Paula is the Executive Director of Agency by Design Oakland, a non-profit that works at the intersection of teacher leadership, inquiry-based professional development, and maker-centered learning, in service of student agency.

I love learning and have had many wonderful teachers over the years, but one who always stands out is my 10th grade world history teacher. She was exacting, had very high standards, and she challenged all of her students (whether “slacker” or “brain”) to use higher order, more complex thinking skills. I had never worked so hard in my young academic life but I loved it and respected her for her fair treatment, high expectations, and no-nonsense attitude. If you received a good grade in her class, you knew you’d truly earned it. As I started my teaching career, she influenced my always holding high expectations for all of my students regardless of perceived abilities. I thank her for that.

Pirette McKamey is a seasoned and passionate educator, who just concluded a 33 year career with San Francisco Unified School District. She joyfully taught English and social studies for 27 years and spent the last three years of her career, right as the pandemic hit, as the Principal of Mission High School.

Now, she has the freedom to do other work she loves; supporting hard-working teachers as the Community Coordinator for the LIGHT Awards project, teaching creative writing to high school students through the Bay Area Writing Project, and writing both fiction and nonfiction.

Her work has appeared in The Atlantic online (June 2020), Vox Viola, (June 2020) and midnight & indigo (2023). She is also working on a novel, supported by the Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop Book Project based in Denver, Colorado.

Of all the wonderful teachers I have had, three stand out because of how they made me feel and what they made me believe about myself. Mr. Peters, my eighth grade English teacher, took the time to get to know me, seeing beyond my multitude of teenage shortcomings; Fran Bradley, my high school economics teacher, honored my intellect and made it clear to the rest of the class that he did; Mr. Sternheimer, one of my college professors, pushed me and saw what I was capable of before I did. What a difference they made in my life!

Joanne is a Director with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). She joined the RPA team in 2009. She helps individuals, families, corporations, and foundations at all points in the giving journey. Her work includes helping clients determine priorities for giving, developing and implementing philanthropic strategies, and managing grantmaking initiatives and giving programs. She enjoys that her role enables her to work with passionate philanthropists across a wide range of issues and geographies to bring needed resources to important causes and to support solutions to our biggest challenges.

Joanne has a diverse breadth of social sector experience. Prior to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Joanne contributed to grantmaking and programs at the Skoll Foundation, American Express, and Morgan Stanley. She also managed the Volunteer Services Department of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, engaging donors and creating meaningful service opportunities. Joanne served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Central Africa. Joanne holds a BS from the University of Michigan and a MBA from Columbia Business School, where her focus was Social Enterprise. Joanne currently serves on the Board of the Friends of the Alameda Free Library.

My fourth grade teacher made science come alive for her students through hands-on, creative projects. She encouraged us to be young scientists and inventors and nurtured my love of biology and chemistry.