Board committees serve to support the work of the SFS Board of Trustees by focusing on specific areas of governance and oversight. They allow for deeper engagement, informed discussion, and more efficient decision-making on complex or specialized topics such as finance, governance, development, facilities, and strategic planning.
Committees research issues, monitor progress, and develop recommendations to bring before the full board, helping to ensure that the Board fulfills its fiduciary responsibilities and remains aligned with the School’s mission and long-term goals. While committees do important preparatory work, final decisions rest with the full board.
Committees are composed of current board members, as well as other parenting adults and staff volunteers. To learn more about any board committees or if interested in participating in committee work, please contact Board Chair Baljeet Singh at chair@sfschool.org.
Board Committee Members
Chair
Baljeet Singh
Chair
Parent ‘26, ‘30
Baljeet is a product leader, and has previously held roles at DoubleClick, YouTube, Twitter, Google Maps, and two healthcare startups. He’s now taking on fractional and advisory roles, currently serving as Interim Head of Product and Design for Niantic Spatial.
Baljeet has been a part of the SFS community since 2015 and has served in various roles at the school including trustee, Finance Committee and 2024-25 Strategic Planning Committee member, Co-Chair of the Head of School Search Committee, Chair of the Socio-Economic Diversity Task Force, Audit Committee Chair, and an occasional extra whistle for the Cross Country team.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee includes the chairs of standing committees, and the Head of School. The committee helps prepare the agenda for board meetings, reviews committee reports, recommends resolutions, oversees board and committee goals, and monitors the implementation of the strategic plan. The committee meets prior to each board meeting.
Vice Chair
Lori Karns
Vice Chair
Chair, Committee of Trustees
Parent ’31 and ’33
Lori is a parent of two students at The San Francisco School and is excited to serve as a board member after stints on the Finance and Investment Committees and a former chair of the Audit/Risk Committee. She developed a 10-year financial model for the school, as well as a high-level discussion version, and worked on the team that rewrote SFS’s investment policy statement. She is currently in her second year as the board’s vice chair.
Lori is the head of finance at a startup, having gradually migrated from engineering roles to the business side over the course of her career.
Committee on Trustees
The Committee on Trustees (COT) is chaired by the vice chair of the board. The committee recruits potential trustees, orients new trustees, and attends to the ongoing training of all trustees. As part of the ongoing training, the committee organizes biannual board retreats and other special events to build understanding and camaraderie. The COT also nominates the board officers. In February, the committee expands with the addition of one non-board parenting adult and one teacher to become the Nominating Committee, which identifies and nominates candidates for openings on the board.
Trustee
Christine Luby
Trustee
Advancement Committee
Parent ’30, ’32 and ’34
Christine has been a member of the SFS community since 2019, when her oldest of three kids joined the Preschool 3 Caterpillars.
She is the founder of Creature Holdings LLC, a real estate development and venture fund focused on improving San Francisco’s neighborhood commercial corridors. Her professional time is devoted to real estate scouting, design work, and professional support for various Creature Holdings projects.
Christine brings deep entrepreneurial and creative experience to her work on the board where she serves as Chair of the Advancement Committee and former Finance Committee member. She studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned her MBA.
Personally, she finds joy in making mischief with her children, going on trips with her husband, and striving to be a mediocre pickleball player.
Advancement Committee
The Advancement Committee furthers the SFS mission through building enduring relationships and inspiring a culture of philanthropy, while providing strategic input and partnership to the SFS Advancement Office.
Trustee
Thea Anderson
Trustee
Chair, Equity and Belonging Committee
Alumna ’90, Parent ’14, ’26
Thea’s relationship with the school began in 1979, when she started her education in the North Class. She returned to the school in 1996 and 1997, working with the preschool summer and after-school programs, and has passed her love of SFS on to the next generation: her son is an alumnus and her daughter is in middle school.
She was an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles from 2004-2012, earned master’s degrees in Social Welfare and Public Health from UC Berkeley, and worked for SFUSD at School Health Programs, supporting staff, students, and school communities in trauma-informed practices and racial equity work. Currently, Thea works in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley, supporting the next generation of social workers.
Committee on Equity and Belonging
The purpose of the Committee on Equity and Belonging is to increase and support the overall diversity of the staff and student community by proposing policies and structures that honor and embrace each child and family at the school; ensuring that board practices remain mission-aligned with respect to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice; and by promoting family education and community building events that cultivate a rich multicultural and inclusive school environment.
Trustee
Orin Wicks
Trustee
Chair, Finance Committee
Parent ’30, ’32
Orin is a managing director on the investment team at Pathstone, a multi-family office dedicated to serving ultra-high net worth families, single family offices, foundations, and endowments.
Originally from Denver, Orin graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
While the Wicks parents are generally more known for Alice's serial room parenting and craft cocktails, Orin has been a member of the Finance and Investment Committees at SFS since 2022 (where cocktails are, unfortunately, rarely involved).
On the rarest of occasions when there is a day without kids’ soccer, flag football, gymnastics, or piano, Orin enjoys playing golf, reading biographies, getting frustrated by Colorado sports teams, and learning guitar.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee includes the Chief Financial Officer (who also serves as the board treasurer). It develops and monitors the operating budget, capital budgets, investments, salary and benefit policies, and financial aspects of the school. Additionally, it ensures adequate funding for the initiatives of the strategic plan. The Investment Committee is a sub-committee of the Finance Committee.
Trustee
Jen Faenza
Trustee
Chair, Public Purpose Committee
Parent ’24, ’26
Jen has been a proud and enthusiastic member of the SFS community since 2020, when her daughter enrolled followed the next year by her son.
After starting her career in product management at eBay and Yahoo, she has spent the past 10+ years in executive leadership and advisory roles at technology startups including Minted, ipsy, and CrunchLabs. She holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Jen currently chairs the Public Purpose Committee where she supports the school’s service learning initiatives and commitment to developing the humanitarian promise of all our students. She previously served on the Advancement Committee and chaired the Environmental SubCommittee, where she led the efforts to launch the SFS school bus.
Jen enjoys reading, immersive travel experiences (preferably to locales where she can practice her growing Spanish skills), and trying to keep pace with her kids on the tennis court.
Public Purpose Committee
The Public Purpose Committee (PPC) works to promote student, adult, and institutional action at the neighborhood, educational, civic, and global levels. The committee supports family, staff, and institutional programs that inspire SFS adults to model humanitarian spirit; assures resources for school programs that empower students; and seeks avenues for The San Francisco School as an institution to be actively engaged in community partnerships that contribute to the public good. The Environmental Committee is a sub-committee of the PPC.
Trustee
Alex Ortiz
Trustee
Chair, Audit and Risk Committee
Parent ’25 and ’27
Alex Ortiz serves as the CEO and Board Chair of Bright Growth, a leading marketing consultancy that partners with high-tech companies to drive strategic growth. His professional journey spans leadership roles in both venture capital and marketing, where, for nearly a decade, he has advised companies at the board level—as both a board observer and an executive reporting directly to corporate boards. He holds the esteemed Director Certification from the National Association of Corporate Directors, underscoring his commitment to effective and ethical governance.
Alex brings to his role on the Board of Trustees a deep belief in the transformative power of education to unlock opportunity and fulfill the promise of the American Dream. His family became part of The San Francisco School community when his son joined the middle school in 2022, followed by his daughter who joined in 2023. Alex joined the Board of Trustees in 2024 and currently chairs the Audit and Risk Committee, contributing his expertise in oversight, strategy, and organizational risk management.
Alex’s service to education extends beyond SFS. He was elected Chair of the School Site Council at Alvarado Elementary, where he provided governance and strategic guidance to a San Francisco public school. At SFS, he has served on a hiring committee and is an active member of the Latin Affinity Group.
He earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Risk Management & Audit Committee
The Risk Management & Audit Committee identifies and explores potential risk concerns on campus and develops strategies to minimize these issues. In addition, it is charged with overseeing all aspects of the School’s annual financial auditing. It is the board’s liaison with the auditor. This committee partners closely with the business office to ensure a timely and effective completion of the process.
Trustee
Sid Lakireddy
Trustee
Chair, Site Committee
Parent ’25, ’33, ’33
Sid is a co-founder of Anchor Valley Partners and Square One Management where he brings extensive real estate expertise, having managed, developed, acquired, and repositioned properties across Northern California since 2003. Sid has served on the Site Committee for the San Francisco School since 2018.
Sid holds a B.S. from St. Mary’s College, a post-baccalaureate in Finance from Columbia University, and a juris doctorate from Santa Clara University. He is a licensed real estate broker and a member of the State Bar of California. His commitment to community and education extends to his role on the board of trustees for Aria University, his long-standing service on the California Rental Housing Association (Cal-RHA) board—including as past President and a member of its executive committee since 2016—and his position on the steering committee for the Hindu Community and Cultural Center. He also previously served on the Chancellor's Task Force for Student Neighbor Relations at UC Berkeley.
Site Committee
The Site Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining the physical structures of the School. The committee oversees maintenance plans for current buildings, works with architects to develop plans for facility expansion or upgrades, researches land acquisition and suitability, and acts as the liaison with appropriate agencies.