Board of Trustees
Dr. Joel Parrott - Board Chair
Oakland Zoo was virtually bankrupt and branded by the media as one of the ten worst zoos in the United States. Dr. Parrott began by relentlessly and successfully rallying for the financial support needed in order to save the Zoo from certain closure. At only twenty-five acres large and just fifteen employees, Dr. Parrott quickly began making improvements to the Zoo infrastructure that supported his long-term vision of the nationally accredited, award-winning, progressive, conservation and education-focused, 100-acre Zoo it is today.
Dr. Parrott’s many achievements, including Zoo-to-Community programs to make the Zoo free and accessible to underserved communities, were recognized by Oakland’s Jobs and Housing Coalition in 2019, where he was chosen to receive the 2019 Legacy Award, recognizing ‘blazing business and civic leaders.’ He is also recognized as a lifelong Trustee Emeritus at the Oakland Zoo and has the Zoo’s entrance named after him, “Parrott Plaza.”
Dr. Parrott continues to be engaged in various projects, among which include his board role at Northern Light School.
Ariana Marbley
A proud native of Oakland, California, Ariana continues to live in the city she loves while raising her family alongside her husband. Both of their children have attended
Northern Light School from preschool through eighth grade, giving Ariana the privilege of being part of the NLS community for more than a decade. As an engaged and active parent, she has witnessed and contributed to the school’s incredible growth and evolution over the years.
Before following her passion for floral design, Ariana spent nearly 15 years in the corporate world. What began as a passion and creative outlet soon blossomed into her full-time work, leading her to take a leap of faith and launch Esscents of Flowers, her own floral design business. Now celebrating ten years in business, Ariana remains deeply committed to fostering community. Through her work, she has had the joy of contributing to events both big and small—always with the intention of bringing people together and creating meaningful experiences through flowers, one stem at a time
Derek Boyd
An Oakland native and Northern Light alum, Derek Boyd graduated from Skyline High School in Oakland and went to college at the University of California Santa Cruz. His
undergraduate degree in Sociology with a Minor in Education led to a career in education, where he went on to earn his teaching credential at San Francisco State University and teach math in Oakland high schools for 10 years.
While he taught, Derek earned his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at CSU East Bay. After a decade in the classroom, he went into administration, coming full circle and returning home as the Dean of Student Life at Northern Light and spending three years as an Assistant Principal at Fremont High School in Oakland. Derek now serves as the Head of School at Northern Light.
Northern Light is the foundation of Derek’s work in education. The joy, passion and academic curiosity cultivated in him is embedded in all of the work he continues to do now. He is committed to his community and doing his part to make sure every child has a similar joyously intellectual experience as a student.
As the Head of School, an alum, former staff member, and now parent, Derek deeply believes in the vision of Northern Light and the importance it has earned in our world.
Jeri Johnstone
AAUW Tech Trek STEM Camps, and as event manager for Alameda County’s Science in the Park. Jeri has taught and led STEM curriculum initiatives at Northern Light School and Oakland Unified School District, earning her Master’s degree in STEAM Integration in 2019. She also facilitated award-winning student-engineer collaborations for the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair.Dr. Mary Antón
Mary Antón is founder of Learning•Leading•Becoming Equity Leadership Consulting. A proud second
generation Mexican American, has devoted her career to supporting children and adults of color. She works in independent schools around the Bay Area and across the country, and with districts as diverse as New York City and Newton, MA. Mary co-founded and serves as chair of STRIDES, Schools Transforming: Reinventing Inclusive, Diverse & Equitable Systems – devoted to supporting school teams as they use data to investigate the intersection of equity and instruction, and runs an affinity network to support women leaders of color. She leads Equity Rounds throughout the country, training schools to sustainable practice. Mary facilitates the Bay Area DEI directors network, leads the Inspiring Leaders of Color program and meets with Heads of Schools, Boards & DEI directors as part of her role as Chair of PoCIS (People of Color in Independent Schools of Northern California). Mary is a lecturer in leadership at Boston College, and spent 18 years at Tufts University – teaching about the intersection of race, language, and education. Before her first retirement, Mary was a school leader for 18 years (and a K-12 teacher for 23). Mary earned her Ed.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and her A.B. from UC Berkeley.
Mary loves being in schools, supporting innovative practice and being a part of the deep fabric of institutions. An Oakland resident, in her off-time Mary loves to wander in the regional parks with her Irish Wolfhound, Fiona, and is an avid underwater photographer and scuba diver with a special affinity for sharks. She welcomes this opportunity to support Northern Light School now and as it imagines its future.
Mike Pivovaroff
Livermore National Laboratory. Having devoted his career to performing research and development in the national interest, his current role ensures the Lab’s scientific innovation is coupled with disciplined and strategic execution. Mike has worked in a variety of science and security fields, leading and contributing to projects funded by the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Homeland Security, as well as NASA and the NIH. Mike received a B.A. in physics from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mike moved to Berkeley when he was 17 and has considered the Bay Area his home ever since. Having lived in Oakland since 2000, Mike and his wife enjoy hiking in the East Bay hills and appreciate the vibrancy and diversity of the region.
Mike joined the Northern Light School board in January 2023. He strongly believes in its mission of holistic education and is excited to contribute to its continued success.
Monika Bauerlein
Monika Bauerlein is the current CEO of Mother Jones. Born in Germany, Monika came to America on a 
Fulbright scholarship and worked for a variety of publications including Germany's Die Zeit and the Associated Press prior to landing at Mother Jones in 2000, where she’s worn many hats since.
As a strong proponent of holistic childhood education, Monika sent all three of her children to Northern Light School and is passionate about supporting the school as a board member.
Nicole Jones
Nicole Jones is the Legal Director for one of Houston’s largest non-profit immigration legal service agencies, providing comprehensive case
management and legal representation to refugees and other vulnerable immigrants. Her practice has focused primarily on empowering and educating detained individuals to represent themselves in deportations proceedings and seeking asylum for individuals with severe mental health conditions facing deportation.
She is a proud graduate of the NLS class of 1996. NLS will forever hold a special place in her heart, and she remains connected through a niece currently attending the school as well as her commitment to the board, where she’s enthusiastic about contributing to the legacy of the school in a meaningful way.
Tracy Cone
Tracy Cone brings a wide range of educational, leadership, and project-management experience to her work with students and schools. She spent 15 years in Oakland
before relocating to the Peninsula, and her career has spanned both nonprofit education and global event management. Tracy served as a Program Manager for a Berkeley-based educational travel nonprofit, where she marketed, organized, and led more than 200 international learning programs for high school students. She personally chaperoned 15 programs across France, Québec, and Costa Rica, ensuring safe, enriching, and culturally immersive experiences.
Tracy also spent over eight years at Covision, where she managed all aspects of large-scale corporate event production for groups ranging from 50 to 1,000 participants. Her work included on-site oversight of complex, multinational programs in France, Belgium, Singapore, Gabon, and Qatar—strengthening her expertise in logistics, operations, cross-cultural communication, and stakeholder coordination.
She holds a B.S. in Economics, a B.A. in French, and an M.S. in Economics from Arizona State University, as well as an M.A. in French from San Jose State University. A former professional golfer, Tracy is currently the Varsity Girls Golf Coach at Mountain View High School. She also serves as an Ambassador and Volunteer Coach with the First Tee of Silicon Valley, a youth development organization that helps young people build character, confidence, and life skills through golf.
Deeply committed to community service, Tracy volunteers at her local cat rescue and is an avid trail runner, having completed one 100-mile and two 100-kilometer ultramarathons.
Will Nervis
As an Northern Light School alum, Will boasts an especially strong love for the school, Michelle
Lewis, and for the well-being of each student.
By profession, Will has worked in the legal industry for over 15 years and his jobs have brought him to Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and more recently San Francisco, where he worked for Tesla. You can also find him jet-setting around the globe in pursuit of his volunteer work in conservation.
Will is passionate about reconnecting Northern Light alumni with the school through his role as board member.