Board of Directors

Arambula was a member of Summit’s faculty for over a decade, before shifting his focus towards creating transformative change in his hometown of Fresno, CA. He joined Summit Preparatory Charter High School as a social science teacher at the beginning of its third year of operation and taught for six years. After stepping out of the classroom, Arambula helped launch Summit’s first high school that integrated a blended learning model, Summit Public School Rainier, in East San Jose. After a year as the founding Executive Director of Rainier, he moved into the role of Chief Growth & Innovation Officer, helping to expand Summit schools and infuse innovation throughout the organization. Prior to coming to Summit Public Schools, Arambula served as Communications Director for Congressman Cal Dooley, after serving as Deputy Campaign Manager. He holds a BA in government, with honors from Harvard University and a MA in education from Stanford University.

Lizzie Choi (she/hers) is a Senior Vice President at the Pahara Institute. Her team leads operations and efforts to catalyze action and collaboration amongst the Pahara network.

Prior to Pahara, Lizzie served as the Chief Program Officer at Summit Public Schools, where she led the Summit Learning Program. Under her leadership, the program grew from the founding cohort of 19 schools across ten states to 380 schools in 40 states serving over 65,000 students. Partnering with a diverse range of schools reinforced Lizzie’s commitment to equity and her appreciation for collaboration. Her time in the classroom as Summit Everest’s founding Algebra II teacher is where she discovered her passion for helping students and adults develop pathways to reach their full potential.

In addition, Lizzie partners with organizations through seasons of growth and scale and coaches senior leaders. She previously led sales and customer success for Desmos’ new middle school math curriculum, partnered with Moonshot edVentures, Prepared Parents, Strive, and Swing Education. She has also acted as an Advisor for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Lizzie received her BA in public policy, with an emphasis on education policy, from Stanford University and her MA from the Stanford Teacher Education Program. In her free time, she enjoys the arts, spending time with family and friends, and discussing Enneagram.

Mr. Steven Humphreys has been a member of Summit’s Board since its founding, and was one of the original contributors to our initial charter. He was instrumental in recruiting Ms Tavenner and others into Summit from its early days, and has served on the Summit Board for 18 years. In addition to serving on the board of Summit Public Schools, Steve has served as a trustee of the Portola Valley School District and on numerous other boards. Steve is currently CEO of a publicly-traded security company, Identiv, Inc, which protects places including the White House, all of our federal courthouses, airports, schools and other security-sensitive places. He’s started and run several other technology companies, and began his career at General Electric Company where he worked in a variety of manufacturing and information technology positions. Steve received a BS from Yale University and an Masters in Science and Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University.

Dr. Anisha Munshi is the current Assistant Superintendent of Professional Learning for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. She has a long history of working in education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and board trustee. Dr. Munshi holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kashmir, India in Math and Economics and Bachelor of Science from National University in Liberal Studies, a Master of Arts from National University in Education and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a Doctorate from San Jose State University in Educational Leadership. Dr. Munshi was appointed to the Summit Board of Directors by the Santa Clara County Office of Education in 2020.

Mr. Thompson is President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Proteus Digital Health. He is a veteran of Silicon Valley biomedical startups, formerly serving as President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of FemRx and Chief Financial Officer of CardioRhythm. As a consultant and venture capital investor he contributed to several successful healthcare companies including Cell Genesys, Cytotherapeutics, Northstar Neuroscience and QRx Pharmaceuticals. He holds an MA in engineering from Cambridge University and was a United Kingdom National Engineering Scholar from 1982 to 1985. He also holds an MA in education and an MBA from Stanford University. Mr. Thompson was a founding board member and Foundation President of Summit Preparatory Charter High School.

Mr. Warner is a Founder and Managing Partner of Silicon Valley Partners LLC, a firm that provides strategic merger and acquisition advisory services focused on the growth sectors of the digital economy. Prior to this, he spent 10 years at Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, where he provided investment banking services for the software, media, and communications sectors. In addition to serving on the SPS Board, he is currently the Chairman of the Governance Council of Everest Public High School, providing oversight as well as helping set strategic goals and operational objectives. Mr. Warner received his BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his MBA from the University of Southern California.

Mafara Hobson is a dynamic storyteller and executive communications strategist with more than a decade of experience in mission-driven, strategic communications and media relations. She has demonstrated expertise in creating and disseminating transformative narratives that have advanced key objectives in government, corporate and nonprofit sectors.

Mafara is the current Director of Communications at the Swedish Medical Center where she directs strategy, plans, executes internal communications and public affairs across five hospitals and seven campuses in the Seattle area. Mafara joined the Swedish Medical Center after more than two years as the Executive Communications Director at the City of Seattle. Mafara came to Seattle after serving an appointment in the Office of General Services in the Obama Administration.

Mafara has deep roots in public education advocacy and was a pivotal member of Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty’s team at a time of significant transformation within the DC public school district. Later Mafara joined forces with StudentsFirst a national non-profit organization in support of education reform based in Sacramento. As the Marketing and Communications Chief, she drove digital and social media strategies in creating a grassroot movement to attract and engage more than one million parents, students and public school advocates across the country to join forces with the movement. Mafara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Howard University.

Leslie Liao is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Impact Public Schools in Washington State. Leslie possesses twenty years of demonstrated experience in public accounting, corporate finance, investment management, and public school leadership. After an accomplished career in finance and accounting in the private sector, Leslie joined the Impact team to lend her talents to public education. Leslie is also a passionate educator, which is evident both through her work with Impact Public Schools and as Adjunct Faculty at Portland Community College.

Leslie received her Bachelor of Science, Double Major in Accounting and Finance from Portland State University, and a Master of Science in Financial Analysis from Portland State University. She is a CFA charterholder and a licensed CPA. She is a parent to two school-aged children and lives in Seattle.

Bio is forthcoming.

Shirline Wilson brings a focus on leadership development to our board. Ms. Wilson has spent 20 years working in Finance, IT and Business Excellence through leadership roles at The Cobalt Group, Microsoft and Cypress Consulting. Shirline’s accomplishments include leading major program and organizational change efforts, improving processes and systems, managing risk, and developing team capacity. Ms. Wilson is an alum of Antioch University. She is serving as the Interim State Director for Democrats for Education Reform WA and is parent of three great kids including one who attends Rainier Prep, a charter middle school. She lives in Seattle.