Board of Trustees

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.

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.

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. He is currently an Assistant Principal at Fremont High School in Oakland. 

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 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.

Dick first joined the board of the Northern Light School in the early 2000’s and served for about three years. Upon retirement from Athenian in 2018, he worked with the school to help develop a STEAM classroom and curriculum. Dick formally re-joined the Board in December of 2020. Dick believes deeply in providing NLS students the best grounding possible in academics, intellectual development, and appreciation for community and social justice, so that they can fulfill their dreams of changing the world for the better.

Dick currently lives in Inverness and Berkeley, CA. Along with his work on the NLS Board, he enjoys reading, hiking, and kayaking. He is engaged in a London Literary Salon studying the works of Shakespeare – and, as a frustrated novelist, is currently working (again) to revise a book he wrote for his Master’s thesis at USF. He and his wife Molly enjoy traveling when they can. They have two grown daughters who live on the East Coast.

Education: Williams College (1976), BA English; University of San Francisco (1994), MA Writing.

Employment: Farm worker, Australia (1971-72); The Country School, Madison CT (1976-1978) – Taught literature to grades 6-9; Living Resources Corp, Albany New York (1980-1982) – Director of group homes for the developmentally disabled in Albany and Saratoga Springs; The Athenian School, Danville CA (1982-2018) – Worked as coach, dorm parent, literature teacher, Humanities Department chair, Academic Dean, and Head of Upper School.

Brian works as both a Coach and Non-Profit Management Consultant. He brings over twenty years of experience in leadership positions in the public sector and extensive experience working at the intersection of the public, private, and governmental sectors.

His coaching focuses on supporting his clients to reach specific professional and personal goals, including but not limited to improving interpersonal communication, managing transitions and team building. Prior to coaching and consulting, Brian received his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, started several AmeriCorps programs, worked in senior management positions at several education non-profits, and worked for a start-up technology company. 

As a proud parent of a Northern Light School student, Brian is enthusiastic about supporting the school’s mission as a board member.

Ann joined the Northern Light School board in May 2021.

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.

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.

Rodolfo is originally from Sacramento, California. He attended UC Davis for his bachelor’s degree and Johns Hopkins for his master’s degree in education. After beginning his career as a Spanish teacher for District of Columbia Public Schools, he moved to Oakland in 2017 to take a position as an assistant principal serving the Sobrante Park community, supporting their efforts to establish a strong, equity-centered community. Emerging from the pandemic, he served as principal of a small charter high school, working to re-open their doors, re-establish traditions, and ensure social-emotional well-being after unprecedented times.

Born to Mexican immigrant parents, Rodolfo is the youngest of three and the first in his family to graduate college. His personal journey through the education system, from overcoming barriers faced by his siblings to receiving transformative support from a high school counselor, drives his commitment to ensuring all students receive an exceptional education regardless of their zip code. In his free time, he loves to travel, having visited Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Costa Rica. He is passionate about learning, speaks three languages, and enjoys cooking. Rodolfo leads with values centered on equity, opportunity, and fostering a joy of learning for all students.

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.

Heather Martinez Quitugua is an attorney in Guam focusing on commercial litigation and criminal defense.  She was the Acting Chief Prosecutor for the Territory of Guam, and a public defender in California, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.  She previously represented the government of Guam in civil litigation. She also was a member of the CNMI Superior Court Juvenile Justice Task Force. Heather was in private practice in New York and California and focused on insurance coverage, real estate, and commercial litigation. She has done extensive pro bono and volunteer work, including serving as a member of the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission; as a board member of Lincoln Families in Oakland, the New York Women’s Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, and Oasis for Girls in San Francisco; and as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate and Educational Surrogate for many children in foster care. 

 Heather received a B.A. from Williams College, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

 A lifetime soccer player, Heather now enjoys water sports and is involved with animal rescue on Guam.  

 Heather joined the Northern Light School board in June 2022.  She hopes to continue the school's work in delivering a positive and empowering educational environment to children of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.