Penelope Pak
Executive Director

Penelope taught ninth and 10th grade English at Summit Prep for four years before joining its administrative team. She first discovered her desire to transform education while teaching a summer reading enrichment course that helped foster a love of reading for struggling students. Prior to joining the education field, Penelope worked as a film publicist in Hollywood, served as a White House intern for President Clinton, and was also a national synchronized swimming champion. Penelope loves Summit because everyone in the organization lives and breathes the mission to prepare a diverse student population for success in college, career, and life. Her colleagues are professionals who always place students at the center of every decision, and courageously confront brutal facts to continuously improve Summit's program.  

John Fanning
Assistant Director

John joined Summit Prep in 2013 and is excited to be working collaboratively to create a successful college-going culture for all students. Prior to Summit, John was a high school teacher, college counselor, and department chair in Chicago Public Schools before heading west to Oakland, where he directed an early college awareness and preparation program for low-income public middle school students. Before working in schools, John was an artist with gallery shows and screenings in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

Patti Giamoni
Assistant Director

Patti loves Summit for the genuine relationships with students, families and faculty. She enjoys working in an organization that is willing to think outside the box and be innovative to create a model that will increase student success for high school and beyond. Before taking on the role of Administrator at Summit Prep, Patti taught Spanish at Summit's second school, Everest Public High School. Prior to Summit, she taught for seven years at the The William G. Enloe GT/IB Center for the Humanities, Sciences, and the Arts in Raleigh, NC. Patti loves horseback riding and is in the process of building our dream cabin on 40 acres in a gated community in Laramie, Wyoming.

Lilla
Toal- Mandsager
Executive Director

Lilla believes that high-quality public education is the shortest path to social justice. She earned a B.A. in English Literature and a M.A. in Education from Stanford University. She joined the Summit Prep faculty as a student teacher in 2004 and subsequently worked as an English teacher and college mentor. She was the founding English teacher at Everest and served as an Assistant Director before becoming the principal. She fell in love with Summit Schools because it's a values-based organization, with an emphasis on character and an intense focus on college for all students.

Charlotte Lum-Ku
Assistant Director

Abbie Coffee
Assistant Director

Inspired by the diversity, positive energy, and creativity that she sees in the students and faculty, Coffee joined Summit's second school, Everest Public High School in 2009, teaching History. She then moved into a leadership role as Everest's Assistant Director.

David Richards
Executive Director

Richards joined Summit Prep in 2006 as a history teacher. Since joining the organization, he has helped to open Summit's second schools, Everest Public High School, as well as open and lead Summit's two East San Jose schools. Prior to Summit, Richards worked in various fields in the business and non-profit sector and also taught internationally in Costa Rica and Mexico. David holds both a BA in History from UC Berkeley as well as a MA in Education from Stanford University. When not teaching AP US Government at Summit or thinking about how to lead a school, David enjoys spending time with his wife and playing basketball.

Nick joined the Summit organization first teaching World Studies II at Summit Prep, its flagship school, and then World Studies I at Everest. Prior to Summit, he taught math for two years in south central Los Angeles. Nick earned his Bachelors degree from UCLA in History & Education, and his M.A. in Education from Stanford. He enjoys working at Summit because he believes in the mission and the people he works with.

Kristin Hannon
Assistant Director

Kristin taught 9th grade English at Summit Tahoma for two years before becoming Assistant Director. Prior to joining Summit, she spend two years teaching English and dance at an all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles and two years teaching English at a public middle school in Indiana. She holds a BA in English and History from the University of Notre Dame and a MA in Education from Stanford University.

David Richards
Executive Director

Richards joined Summit Prep in 2006 as a history teacher. Since joining the organization, he has helped to open Summit's second schools, Everest Public High School, as well as open and lead Summit's two East San Jose schools. Prior to Summit, Richards worked in various fields in the business and non-profit sector and also taught internationally in Costa Rica and Mexico. David holds both a BA in History from UC Berkeley as well as a MA in Education from Stanford University. When not teaching AP US Government at Summit or thinking about how to lead a school, David enjoys spending time with his wife and playing basketball.

Pamela Lamcke
Principal

Pam is a San Jose native and is excited to be part of such an innovative, focused, and collaborative organization. She joined Summit as an Assistant Director for Summit's two East San Jose schools. Prior to Summit, she worked with a local public charter school as both an English teacher and an Assistant Principal. Pam earned a Master's in Educational Leadership and an administrative credential from UC Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute and also holds a Master's in Education and a teaching credential from the Stanford Teacher Education Program, as well as a Bachelor's of Arts in Literatures in English from UC San Diego. 

Lia Pinelli
Assistant Director

Lia's passion for public education stems from her own experience as a student. Having high school in the community college system, she gained acceptance to University of California, Berkeley where she earned her degree in the History of Art and graduated magna cum laude. She went on to earn a MA in Education from Stanford University. Lia joined Summit Prep in 2008 as a Spanish teacher before becoming the Assistant Director for Summit's two East San Jose schools. Lia is committed to holding all students to high expectations and always letting what is best for students be her guide.

Joe Bielecki
Executive Director

Joe's passion for bold education reform started over ten years ago teaching in San Jose's east side. He taught middle school math and science for four years in a traditional public school district before working as a math coach supporting new math teachers. Joe then joined the KIPP network of public charter schools and led the math department for three years, during which time he received an M.A. in educational leadership from U.C. Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute. Joe joined Summit Public Schools as the founding assistant director of Summit Public Schools Rainier and Tahoma in 2011, and currently leads Summit Denali as the founding Executive Director.

Caitlyn Herman
Executive Director

Caitlyn began her career as an educator in the New York City public school system.  After moving to the Bay Area in 2011, she joined Summit's second school, Everest Public High School, as a science teacher. She joined Summit's leadership team and opened Summit Shasta in 2013.

Kelly Garcia
Executive Director

Before opening Summit K2, Kelly held many positions with the Summit Public Schools organization. Most recently, she was the Executive Director at Everest Public High School, an Assistant Director at Summit Prep and the founding History teacher at Summit Prep. She holds a BA in History from Stanford University and a Masters in Teaching and Curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Greg Ponikvar
Executive Director

Greg joined the Summit organization as a founding teacher at Summit's second school, Everest Public High School. After teaching at Everest for several years, he moved into a leadership role and is now leading the organization's Expeditions team. Prior to working with Summit, Greg worked with a non-profit K-6 afterschool program in Isla Vista, serving the high need community.  He also interned at the National Education Association in Washington D.C. as a policy researcher, working to reform the No Child Left Behind law. Greg recently received his National Board Certification and is a regular AVID tutor.