Delegate authority to the Head of School to manage the school in accordance with the strategic plan and budget.
Develop strategic goals for the school together with appropriate policies and plans to ensure the present and future well being of the school.
Approve the annual budget and financial statements of the school.
Monitor progress in meeting the budget and approve adjustments, if necessary.
Create committees to recommend policies and monitor performance in specific areas of responsibility.
Provide guidance to the Head of School, as required.
Lead in annual fundraising and major giving.
Board of Directors
The GAIS Board of Directors currently has eight members including the President and the Vice President. The Board is elected annually for two years staggered terms.
The Board of Directors has primary responsibility for implementing the policies established by the Membership in management of the School and Kindergarten operations. This includes setting the annual budget, tuition and fees, contracting for facilities, hiring the head of school, teachers and staff, and supporting the School principals and teachers in their operation of the school. The Board of Directors is elected annually for two years staggered terms in February by the voting membership.
Markus holds a Masters degree in Physics from the Free University in Berlin. He was also awarded a Ph.D. for studies on the electronic structure of silicon surfaces by the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. He transferred to U.C. Davis for postgraduate studies, then was a research scientist and program manager at a biotech startup. He is currently leading a team which oversees a significant portion of Genentech’s domestic and international contract manufacturing network. Markus has two children at GAIS and has been a class representative for a couple of years. As a board member, he wants to make his skills available to the school and give back to the community as well as positively influence his children’s education. Spending quality time with his family, the outdoors, building HiFi amplifiers and speakers, and photography are among his favorite spare time activities. Markus's current term ends in February 2011.
Laura Vaughan (Vice President, Facilities Committee Chair)
Laura was raised in the Bay Area and currently lives in Menlo Park with her husband, Brannan, and their three sons. Her family has been at GAIS for four years. They chose this school because they believe in the IB philosophy and program, and they are proud that their children will be fluent in a language which they do not speak at home. Laura works in the biopharmaceutical industry, and has been involved with GAIS for the past two years as the Preschool Parent Representative. Laura is serving on the Board because she would like to make a contribution to GAIS encompassing both the Preschool and the School. Laura's current term ends in February 2012.
Allison Marakovic (Treasurer)
Allison has one child at GAIS and one who will attend the Preschool next year. Her household is tri-lingual, with Croatian, German and English being spoken. She holds an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree from Williams College. She is a former corporate and investment banker and hopes her financial expertise can help the school weather current economic conditions. Allison’s current term ends in February 2012.
Kristen Hughes (Secretary, Marketing Committee Chair)
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I was born in San Francisco but grew up in England. After returning to the US and graduating from Harvard, I joined Morgan Stanley where I worked in investment banking and venture capital until 2006. I have also worked for technology companies in business and corporate development. I am currently a financial consultant and community volunteer. My husband Tony Loeser and I have two children in the school, currently in 4th and 1st grade. We first joined the GAIS community in 2004, and I've acted as class rep and class helper the last two years. Tony and I love GAIS's IB educational foundations, and while we don't speak German with our kids, we are committed to bilingual education. Until I was 11, I attended French schools. We continue to be impressed with the academic and social environment at GAIS, due to both the administration and the strong involvement of the parents in the school. By serving on the board, I hope that I can give back to GAIS and help the school continue its successful growth and maturation. Kristen's current term will end in February 2012.
Indra Pachtner (Fundraising Committee Chair)
Indra is originally from Frankfurt, Germany, where she grew up and worked for over ten years in investment banking for various financial institutions like J.P Morgan and Deutsche Bank. In 2000, the Pachtner family emigrated to the Bay Area. The family has four children; three are currently attending GAIS. The Pachtners have been with the school for almost five years and since then Indra has been a parent representative for different classes, has organized several “Sommerfest” events, and has helped out with GAIS's annual fundraisers. As a board member, Indra wants to take on more responsibility to help shape the future of our school. She is proud to be a part of this unique educational institution and strongly believes in the quality of the program. Indra requested a one-year term. It will end in February 2012.
Martin Doettling (Rules & Regulations Committe Chair)
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My name is Martin Doettling. I am the father of Emma Doettling, a student in Herr Matzeit's 4th grade class. I previously served on the Board during the years 2003 until 2005 - rebuilding years that helped lay the ground work for the school's current success. Originally, I am from Baiersbronn in the Schwarzwald region of southern Germany. After attending the University of Freiburg where I majored in German literature, history and political science, I moved to the U.S. in 1981 *Michigan State University), thanks to a DAAD fellowship. Two years later I entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During my time in Michigan, I met my future wife Jennifer (a true Michigan native) and I began to embrace the then still nascent world of software and computers. Newlywed and with our Michigan graduate degrees fresh in hand, we packed up our VW bus in 1987 and headed for the sunnier Monterey coast of California. Even though the VW bus never made it (the car broke down, fittingly, in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska), we had not looked back and continue to enjoy our life in Northern California. After my tenure at the University of Michigan, I continued my academic career in Monterey where I became the director of the German Studies program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, a private MBA and international policy institute. During that time, I started my own small business in global software localization, which inevitably led to a subsequent technology and marketing career in Silicon Valley. In the past sixteen years, I held executive marketing management positions at Adobe, Remedy, and Kana, among others: currently, I am vice president of product management at Coremetrics in San Mateo. I am interested in the continued success of GAIS and ongoing development of the IB education model. I hope to apply my management expertise and my background in education to help shape the school's next phase by working closely with GAIS parents and the teachers and staff of this extraordinary gem of a school. Martin's current term will end in February 2011.
Matthias Hausner (Education Committee Co-Chair)
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Matthias grew up in Switzerland near Basel. He moved to the Bay Area in 1997 and now lives in Belmont with his partner Davina. Since 2008, they have one child in preschool at GAIS. They have been actively involved at the school. Davina is a classroom helper and is involved in the library. Matthias holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from ETH in Zurich. He has worked for a number of software companies as engineer and manager. For the last 8 years he has worked at VMware in Palo Alto. As a board member, Matthias would like to help GAIS in its continued growth, and be actively involved in his daughter's education, as well as that of all GAIS children. Matthias's current term ends in 2012.
Andreas Wendker (Personnel Committee Chair)
Andreas, a native German, who plans to live in the USA permanently, works as a manager at Apple Computer where he manages several software engineering teams. He holds a MS in Physics. His three daughters attend GAIS. Andreas's current term ends in February 2011.
