Board of Trustees

Brent Rivard is a Partner and Managing Director of Pathfinder Partners, LLC, a real estate investment firm. He is also a principal in several business-to-business service firms targeting mid-market companies including RelationEdge, Main Path Marketing and Signature Analytics. He was previously the President of a local wealth management firm, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of a commercial real estate brokerage firm, the Vice President, Finance and Operations at The MHA Group and Vice President, Accounting and Finance/Treasurer at NYSE-traded AMN Healthcare..

​Mr. Rivard started his career at Deloitte & Touche after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Business Economics. His philanthropic work includes serving on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County, including as Board Chair in 2012-2013. 

Mr. Rivard resides in Encinitas with his wife, Laura, and their three children, all of whom attend Pacific Ridge.

Dr. Maria Aini is an associate professor of emergency medicine and a physician leader. She received her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and completed her residency at NY Presbyterian Hospitals of Columbia and Cornell.  Her expertise is clinical operations with experience in health system strategy and operational planning and implementation. Dr. Aini is an effective team leader capable of executing large scale change within an organization with focus on quality and safety, financial performance, and growth. Her philanthropic work includes serving as a trustee for Afghans Rising/Afghan Peaks Charity a 501c3 supporting the Afghan community residing in the US. She has recently relocated to North County San Diego with her husband Hooman and two sons who attend Pacific Ridge School.

After starting her career in internet technology marketing, Shari Bard became a teacher. A Southern California native, she has served as an educator in both Chula Vista and Los Angeles. She also has extensive volunteer experience in both admissions and fundraising for independent schools. While her children attended San Francisco Day School, Ms. Bard guided admissions focus groups, chaired the school’s fundraising gala, and played an important role in the school’s capital campaign. Ms. Bard earned her undergraduate degree and teaching credential from San Diego State University.  

Heather Bergman works as an investment professional and has a background in public policy and teaching. She is a managing director and senior portfolio manager with the Multi-Asset Team of Virtus Investment Partners.  In this role, Ms. Bergman manages active asset allocation strategies, oversees research on underlying managers and focuses on sustainable investing. Before joining Virtus, she was a portfolio manager on the Multi-Asset US team at Allianz Global Investors. Ms. Bergman earned a B.A. from Georgetown University, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in international political economy from the University of California Los Angeles.

Nihar Bhakta is the Chief Medical Officer at Aristea Therapeutics. Previously, Dr. Bhakta served in several key positions at Gossamer Bio and Ardea Biosciences in San Diego. He has also authored numerous scientific publications. Dr. Bhakta earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Brown University and his doctorate from Penn State College of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Cleveland Clinic and his fellowship training at UCLA. He is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric nephrology.  

Jennifer Bjornstad is a secondary school administrator and math teacher with over 25 years of experience. She began her career teaching all levels of mathematics in the public schools in Colorado and California before joining Pacific Ridge School as a founding faculty member in 2007. In addition to teaching math each year, she served as Department Chair, Staff Collaboration Coordinator, Academic Dean, Dean of Faculty, Assistant Head of School, and Director of Enrollment. Bjornstad has a B.A. from Northwestern University, received her teacher training and math credential at the University of Colorado, Boulder and has completed graduate coursework in math education at the University of Colorado, Denver and San Diego State University. She and her husband have two children, both alums of Pacific Ridge School.

Dr. Rio Dickens-Celestin is an internal medicine physician at Scripps Health. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Psychology, then attended the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Following medical school, Dr. Dickens-Celestin completed her internship and residency at Emory University in Atlanta. She joined the faculty at Emory after training and served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine for thirteen years. She is a member of the American Medical Association and American College of Physicians.

Rashida Dzeketey is a native of Ghana, West Africa, and completed her undergraduate studies at the United States International University (USIU) campus in Nairobi, Kenya. She moved to the USIU San Diego campus to pursue her M.B.A and has lived here ever since.  She spent about 15 years working in various analytic roles in the homebuilding and health care industries and currently manages data analytics for supply chain at Neurocrine Biosciences. Rashida and her husband Kuassi have two children, a son in college and a daughter at Pacific Ridge.

Kristin French is a civic leader in the San Diego and Rancho Santa Fe communities bringing expertise and focus from her professional experience in the areas of finance and accounting, Human Resources, contract negotiation, sales/marketing, fundraising, and strategic planning.  

Ms. French’s passion for education and service started early as an undergraduate student at the University of San Diego. After graduating, she served for over 15 years on the school’s Alumni Board. In 2010, Ms. French served on the steering committee to develop the vision for Epiphany Prep Charter School, which was established to serve the inner-city children of San Diego. She continues to serve on the Epiphany Prep Charter School board. Ms. French also served on The Nativity School Advisory Board where her children attended school and focused on curriculum and fundraising for the school. 

Prior to her civic involvement and having her two children, Ms. French spent over a decade at Pepsi Bottling Group working in sales and marketing. She earned a B.A. in Business Administration and MBA from the University of San Diego. She and her husband have two children, both of whom attend Pacific Ridge.

A biotech entrepreneur, physician executive, translational scientist and drug developer, Sheila Gujrathi, M.D. serves on multiple boards and advises start-up companies and investment groups in the biotech industry. She serves as executive chair of the board of directors of Ventyx Biosciences, Inc., chair of ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., chair of ImmPACT Bio, Inc., and director of Janux Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Gujarati is the co-founder and former CEO of Gossamer Bio, Inc. and formerly served as chief medical officer of Receptos, Inc.

She received her M.D. in the accelerated honors program in medical education and her B.S. in biomedical engineering with highest distinction from Northwestern University. She completed her internal medicine internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and additional fellowship training in allergy and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University.

Born and raised in San Diego, Eric Iantorno is a highly-regarded and award-winning licensed real estate broker, specializing in luxury and waterfront homes. Recognized as the #1 individual agent at Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty, Eric annually ranks in San Diego's Top 3 individual agents by sales volume. Eric has closed some of the highest-priced San Diego sales ever recorded in San Diego and has repeatedly set records for the highest-priced sales in multiple communities. He was recognized by the San Diego Association of Realtors with their top honor as Realtor of the Year. Eric’s eye for marketing, along with his ability to find high-net-worth buyers with local and global advertising sets him apart from his competition. Eric prides himself in a “whatever it takes” attitude towards advertising properties excelling at selling San Diego’s most unique and expensive real estate.

Dimas Jimenez is the CFO of Spire Health, a VC-backed virtual care start-up. Previously, Mr. Jimenez was Vice President & Corporate Controller at Codex DNA for their IPO. He was also Chief Financial Officer at StemoniX and Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, Vice President Finance and Administration at Spinal Modulation, and Controller at Pearl Therapeutics. Mr. Jimenez graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business with a concentration in Finance and Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Economics. He has also earned the CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst designation. His philanthropic work includes serving on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Entrepreneur Exchange. Mr. Jimenez resides in Carlsbad with his wife, Annika, and their children who attend Pacific Ridge.

Brian Neel is a life sciences executive, advisor and investor residing in Carlsbad with his wife Paula and two children, both of whom attend Pacific Ridge.  Brian is currently CEO and Founder of Artis Biosolutions, a local San Diego startup company focused on investing in and operating companies in the life sciences space.  Prior to Artis Biosolutions, Brian was Chief Operating Officer of nucleic acid technology at Maravai Life Sciences where he led the commercialization of its mRNA technology, which was a critical part of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and global pandemic response.  In his earlier career, Brian led operations, strategic programs and technical manufacturing at local biotech companies in San Diego including Thermo Fisher, GenMark Dx and Synthetic Genomics.  Brian grew up near Saint Louis Missouri and has earned his degree in microbiology from the University of Missouri, Columbia.  Brian and his family love spending time outdoors and traveling. 

Steve Pacelli is Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Dexcom Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on advancements in diabetes care. Prior to serving in several other roles at Dexcom, Steve served as a corporate attorney specializing in finance, mergers and acquisitions, and as general counsel of several privately held companies. Steve currently serves on the Board of Biocom California, Connect, and EvoNexus. He is an ardent supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego. Steve earned a B.A. from UCLA, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Kelly Perez is a veteran finance and corporate operations executive with extensive experience in both the biotechnology and semiconductor technology markets.  After receiving her B.A. in Economics and Architecture at Yale University, Kelly started her career in Silicon Valley working at various semiconductor companies, most notably at Nvidia for many years.  After moving to San Diego in 2004, Kelly has held multiple executive-level roles at Sequenom, Luxtera, and most recently as the Chief Operating Officer at Omniome prior to the acquisition by Pacific Biosciences. Currently, she is an executive consultant helping biotech start-ups. Kelly has one daughter who will be starting high school this year. 

Stephanie is currently a graduate student at Columbia University pursuing a master’s in organizational psychology. Previously, she served as Director of Customer Success at Silicon Valley startup Glynt.ai, and worked at a Stanford-affiliated nonprofit, StartX, helping entrepreneurs effectively launch innovative companies. Prior to entrepreneurial work, Stephanie earned her M.A. in sociology and B.A. in human biology from Stanford University. As a previous Firebird herself (Class of 2012), Stephanie is excited to join the board as an alumna, and grateful for the opportunity to serve. 

Michele Saunders recently ended a four-year tenure on the Pacific Ridge School Parent Association Board of Directors, including a year serving as Executive Director.
 

Ms. Saunders served in numerous financial positions, most recently as Controller for The Governance Institute, a service of NRC Health, supporting not-for-profit hospital and health care leaders. Over the years, she also served as Accounting Director for Pyxis Corporation and in Price Waterhouse LLP’s Audit Group. 

As a first-generation college graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Ms. Saunders believes deeply in the value of education and the importance of its accessibility. She and her husband have two children; one is a current student at Pacific Ridge, the other is a graduate.

Carrie Shen has been an active volunteer in local schools over the past two decades, helping in classrooms, organizing after-school enrichment classes, and holding PTA positions in hospitality and fundraising. She currently serves as Vice President of Philanthropy on the board of Teen Volunteers in Action (San Diego Chapter 4) and serves on the host committee for Curebound, a non-profit that raises funds for cancer research for the major research organizations in San Diego. At PRS, Carrie has volunteered as a Parent Ambassador and a Parent Buddy, answering questions from prospective parents. She’s also served on the Development Committee and assisted with Annual Fund events for the past three years. Carrie holds a B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Master's degree in Public Health in Health Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  

With over two decades of experience in education, Maria Simpson has served as a middle school teacher in City Heights, student teacher supervisor at University of San Diego, School Programs Director for the Birch Aquarium, and executive board member at Design 39 School in the Poway Unified School District. Ms. Simpson graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Environmental Science. She earned a master’s degree in biological oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and holds a teaching credential and Masters of Education from UCSD.  

Heather Steinmeier is a graduate of the University of Michigan Undergraduate Business School and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. She spent the majority of her career at McKinsey and Company serving both retail banks and non-profit organizations, including extensive strategic and marketing work with The Laurel School, located in Shaker Heights, OH. While her children were in attendance, Heather was heavily involved at Stuart Country Day and Princeton Academy, Sacred Heart Schools in the Princeton, NJ area. In addition, she worked as Head of Development for a number of years at an education-focused non-profit helping underserved children in the Trenton, NJ area. Heather lives in Rancho Santa Fe with her husband Rich, and three children. 

CEO of NewRocket, the world’s largest ServiceNow consulting partner, Matt Stoyka has over 25 years of experience in technology services and manufacturing. He also serves as managing partner of Resonance Equity Funds, a technology services investment vehicle. Mr. Stoyka founded RelationEdge, LLC, and has held leadership positions with Rackspace and Centerbeam, Inc. He earned his undergraduate degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Kettering University and has an international Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego.

Michael Witz is the co-founder of Redemption Games, a mobile game developer, and publisher of the puzzle game Sweet Escapes. Mr. Witz is also an active angel investor in the technology industry and a Y Combinator alumnus. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from UC Santa Barbara. Mr. Witz lives with his wife Lisa in Carlsbad. They have three children, two currently attending Pacific Ridge and one recent PRS graduate.