Mandala Children's House :: Board Members

License # 430709411

5038 Hyland Avenue
San Jose, CA 95127
408.251.8633

Mandala Children's House Inc. is a §501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation. Our Board of Directors is composed of a group of parents who dedicate themselves to helping Mandala live out its mission to "nurture children, support families, and nourish staff." The purpose of the Board is to set goals and policies that follow the philosophy of our school and reflect the diverse needs of our children and families. The Board acts as a "compass," guiding our future while holding us accountable to our original vision. Board members are elected for two-year periods. They each take responsibility for one particular area of service. Each spring, we recruit new board members. We encourage all interested parents to apply.

	Rose Ponce, Co-Chairperson & Treasurer/Finance Email : roseponce@gmail.com Rose has a son, Marcus, who has graduated from Mandala and is now in Kindergarten at St. Victor’s. Her second son, Joseph, attends MWF Afternoon Preschool and her daughter, Micaela, will be attending Mandala in a couple of years. Rose is a CPA and her accounting background brings forth a wealth of information to Mandala's business and financial needs. Her husband, Mike, currently maintains our website and their concerted effort is greatly appreciated!
	Kristin Killin, Co-Chairperson Email : VenduraQueen@aol.com Kristin has been an active member of the Mandala community for 7 years, since her oldest daughter, Gabby, first started Early Preschool. She has been a Board member now for 6 of those years and loves it. She is one of the ‘carriers of the history’ on the Board. Kristin’s son, Zachary, is now five and comes to Afternoon Preschool 4 days a week. Rebecca (“Becca-boo”), her youngest, started Early Preschool this year, coming three days a week. Kristin’s husband is a middle school teacher at St. Martin of Tours in San Jose, where Gabby is a 4th grader. Kristin works for her family’s whole produce business where she is the Controller and Human Resource person.
	Tracie Tunnell, Fundraising Email : ttunnell@yahoo-inc.com Tracie is a returning Mandala Board member and will be working together with Tammy Clark on fundraising efforts throughout the year. She has two sons: five-year old Kai, a Mandala graduate, and three-year-old Beck, who attends the M/W/F Morning Preschool. As a working mother, Tracie brings the "working parent perspective" to the board. She is passionate about Mandala and looks forward to helping build and support this very special community for not only this year but for many years to come.
	Tammy Clark, Fundraising Email : tdangtran@yahoo.com Tammy joined the Mandala board in 2007. She has two sons that attend Mandala, and they are both very happy here. Will, her 4 year old son, started Mandala in 2006 and attends preschool MWF, so this is his second year. Jack, her 2 1/2 year old son, attends the Early Preschool T/Th. This is his first year. Tammy was in Sales and Marketing for over 10 years, and she has taken a hiatus to be a mother to her two boys since she was 4 months pregnant with her first son. She loves and enjoys her family and friends and has a passion for the future because of her two sons. Tammy works in fundraising together with Tracie Tunnell. This year they look forward to raising funds for the school’s various needs.

Susan Lee, Events & Activities
Email : srtl@att.net
This is Susan’s first year on the Board and her third year as a Mandala parent. Her son, Ethan, is thoroughly enjoying our Afternoon Preschool class and will attend kindergarten next year. Her daughter, Rebecca, is just starting school this year in our Early Preschool class. Susan has been active at Mandala for the past couple of years and is also the co-director of her Las Madres playgroup. She is a mostly stay-at-home mom who also does freelance technical writing. Susan and her co-chair, Carrie, plan many of the special events and activities at Mandala, such as the Ice Cream Social and the Halloween Party. Susan believes strongly in Mandala and is pleased to be sharing her time and talents as part of the Board.

Carrie Anderson, Events & Activities
Email : clanderson@wwdb.org
Carrie is new to the Board this year and is a second year Mandala parent. Her daughter, Katelyn, is in the Preschool three days per week and her younger daughter, Vanessa, is a future Mandala student. Carrie, along with her co-chair Susan, handle the majority of the special events that happen at Mandala, such as the Ice Cream Social, Halloween Carnival, and End of School Picnic. Carrie’s passion for event planning, with her strong background in marketing, makes this a natural fit. Prior to her position on the Board, she was a local MOPS director and served on several committees at her church. Carrie is excited to be a part of this strong team that currently serves the Mandala community.

Ana Cisneros, Communications/Triad
Email : racisneros@comcast.net
This is Ana’s second year serving on the Board. She and her husband, Ray, have two daughters, Sofi, age 5, and Celeste, age 3, who are currently enrolled in the MWF Afternoon Preschool Class. Prior to becoming a stay at home mom, Ana was in the Facilities Planning and Design profession for 12 years. She would like to contribute her professional experience combined with her communication skills and outgoing personality towards Mandala’s momentum, passion, and fervor. Ana’s responsibilities on the Board include membership and recruitment and working with Triad. Ana has also taken on the job of facilities improvement and overseeing Mandala’s renovation projects.

Tammy Dhanota, Communications
Email : tdhanota@sbcglobl.net
Tammy is new to the board this year. Her 4-year-old daughter, Rory Savannah, attended Early Preschool last year and now attends the Morning Preschool 5-days a week. She also has a 20-month-old daughter, Kailey Janessa, who is excitedly waiting to attend Mandala next year. Tammy has been a marketing, advertising, and communications specialist in the public transportation field for almost 13 years. She is creative, enthusiastic, and energetic, and she is very excited about this year (and several years in the near future) at Mandala. Tammy takes the minutes at our Board meetings and also sends out all the e-mail notices to our families to keep them abreast of what is happening at school. Tammy is working hard to find new ways to strengthen communication between Mandala and our families.

The Role of the Board of Directors
Specifically, the duties of the Board are:

Vote on decisions regarding the direction and policies of the total school program
Model the school philosophy
Hold school personnel accountable for modeling and implementing its stated philosophy in all areas
Hire and terminate employees, based on administrative recommendations
Vote on independent contractor contracts with day care providers, based on the recommendation of the Childcare Director
Review budgets and hold the school to financial accountability
Act as grievance board for staff and parents
Keep the overview of the entire program
Provide ongoing support, feedback and input to the Administrative Staff
Elect new Board members and officers

Membership
The membership of the Board consists of 6 to 9 members, at least fifty percent of whom must be parent-users, including advocates for the preschool and the day care parents.

Meetings
A three-hour evening meeting is held on a monthly basis at the school.

Liability
As elected members of the Board of a non-profit organization, Board members are not held liable in the event of litigation against the organization unless a Board member has acted contrary to Board policy or outside of his or her role as a Board member.

Criteria for Candidates
The Board searches for candidates who are qualified and willing to agree to the following conditions of service:

To support the philosophy, goals, values, and policies of the school
To accept the "team" concept of the Board structure, understanding that this calls for flexibility, effective communication, and consensus decision-making
To accept all aspects of confidentiality, during and after terms of office
To be willing and able to devote the time necessary to Board activities,
To understand that Mandala has a "working board," not a figure-head board
To avoid engaging in activities which constitute a conflict of interest and to abstain from voting on issues in which the Board determines that a conflict of interest exists
To refrain from representing himself or herself as a spokesperson of the Board without the express authorization of the Board
To make a commitment for a two-year term of office