Lauren is a Palo Alto resident, mother of four, and community volunteer with a focus on philanthropy and fundraising. In addition to serving as President of the Friends, she is the Parent Giving Chair at Synapse School, a Community Service Lead for the Priory School Family Association, and a Peninsula Bridge mentor. She earned degrees in Computer Science at Dartmouth College and MIT before working as a software engineer at Google. Lauren enjoys rock climbing, biking, and reading – with and without her children. No matter their age, her children’s favorite exhibit at the JMZ has always been the ball machine.

Jill is a seasoned event planner and project manager with over 20 years in the industry. After culinary school and a degree from University of San Francisco, she started a career in restaurants and hotels and then became a wedding planner. After years of weddings, she transitioned to corporate events and remains as passionate about the industry as she was 20 years ago. Jill lives in Redwood City with her husband and two kids and loves being a mostly stay-at-home mom these days.

Steve has three decades of experience in land use planning and urban development in Peninsula, South and East Bay cities. He served most recently as the City of Palo Alto’s Director of Community Environment and Deputy City Manager, until his retirement in 2013. Since then, he has operated the Palo Alto office of Lighthouse Public Affairs. He remains active in the community through volunteering with several service and non profit organizations. Steve and his wife have lived in Palo Alto since 1988, where they raised their son Alex.

Chelsea is a senior finance leader with extensive experience across the dynamic sectors of technology and media & entertainment. Alongside her professional achievements, she is dedicated to animal and environmental conservation and passionate about advancing STEM education for children. She brings to the board a passion for helping ensure opportunities exist for all children which inspire scientific curiosity and nurture a lifelong appreciation of the natural world. Chelsea holds a BS from Babson College and lives in Redwood City with her family.

Carolyn is a CPA and tax partner with BPM, a large west coast public accounting firm. Originally from Arizona, she’s been a resident of Menlo Park for over 40 years now. In her spare time, she enjoys touring the neighborhood streets with her two huskies. As an animal lover, Carolyn’s favorite attraction at the JMZ is the recently expanded zoo. She is really looking forward to the arrival of the lemurs!

Annette is an attorney and was the founder of the law firm Bialson Bergen & Schwab. Once Annette reduced her legal workload, she served as a volunteer officer and board member at various civic and non-profit organizations including the Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission, League of California Cities, Palo Alto Community Fund, Avenidas and the Arthritis Foundation. Annette holds a BS from Penn State and a JD from Stanford University.

Rebecca is an educational therapist who currently has a private practice based in Menlo Park. She graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Education and later continued on to get her M.Ed. and Certificate in Educational Therapy. She worked in Bay Area schools for 8 years before opening her private practice. She has published a children’s book called Meet Stanley: The Reading Dog and also creates eco-friendly and educational coloring books called Color Me Kind Activity Books. In her free time, she loves to explore the Bay Area with her husband and three children. Nothing brings her more joy than seeing the JMZ through her kids’ eyes.

Growing up just a block away, Brittany has been visiting the JMZ for decades! As Chief Administrative Officer for Vance Brown Inc., the contractor responsible for building the new JMZ facilities, she is excited to see the next generation of JMZ enthusiasts explore the revived museum and zoo.  Brittany loves to visit with her husband and three children — never missing a chance to say hello to Edward the Tortoise!

Aletha is a CPA, retired tax attorney, and has been a community volunteer for the past 35 years. She served on the boards of The International School of the Peninsula, Verde Valley School, Avenidas, and Self Help for the Elderly and continues to serve on The Christensen Fund’s board. Born and raised in Honolulu, Aletha has a BA with honors in Medieval Studies from the University of Hawaii and a JD from Hastings College of Law. She has three adult children and three grandchildren. Her favorite JMZ animal is Sequoia the eagle.

Vivian is a Southern California native, citizen of the world, and Palo Alto resident. She is currently a full-time mother to three active boys, dedicating her time to raising her family and investing in the communities around her. Prior to this chapter, Vivian practiced as a securities lawyer in Hong Kong, and before that, as an English teacher at a university in Northern China. Since moving to Palo Alto during the pandemic, Vivian has spent countless afternoons at the JMZ with her animal-enthusiast children. Vivian's favorite part of the JMZ is the Cichlid Lake, where she loves to watch her kids hunt for the pig-nosed turtles.

Ailey volunteered at the JMZ as a high schooler, inspiring a lifelong journey of science outreach & research. She has worked as an interdisciplinary research scientist at Stanford, Genentech & several startups, applying novel imaging & computational tools to study biological systems from oncology to the brain. Ailey has also taught in classrooms spanning preschool to the professional level and now combines her love for education and research working at the Brainwave Learning Center. She earned an ScB in Chemical Physics from Brown University & a PhD in Biophysics from UC Berkeley. When not in a science lab or classroom, Ailey loves exploring the great outdoors with friends & family. She especially loves the rope bridges at the JMZ for a new perspective on the animals!

Amanda is a longtime tech leader who currently works at Anthropic, following leadership roles at Stripe and Facebook. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Communication — and later earned a certificate in Pastry Arts, putting it to use in a Michelin-starred kitchen. These days her baking is strictly amateur, and she's on a personal mission to try every chocolate chip cookie in the Bay Area. Amanda lives in Palo Alto with her husband, their two kids, and Roux, their golden retriever. The JMZ has been part of her family's traditions for years; they've celebrated birthdays in the Science Lab and were regulars at Discovery Thursdays, where her kids never wanted to leave.

Karin has spent her career in Human Resources fascinated by people and teams, and is thrilled to serve on the Friends. She holds business degrees from NYU and Wharton. Karin and her partner Dan co-authored a children’s book called Meet the Helicopters, satirizing overprotective parents. A native of Palo Alto, Karin and Dan live back in town gardening, cooking, and diligently hovering over their four children, all of whom adore the JMZ as much as Karin did growing up. She has a soft spot for the scarlet ibis.