Executive  Board
Luke S., President
Taylor W., Executive VP
Tyler B., VP Outreach
Tessa S., VP Communications
Anna W., VP Training
Mitchell T., VP Membership
Jack S., VP Social Media
Edwin J., Historian
Mary D., VP Programs
Nina G., VP Editorial
Jessica P., VP Development
Sarah C., VP Leadership

School/Program Reps
PVPHS - Megan H.
PVHS - Dragon S.
Chadwick - Mary D.
Mira Costa - Makena M.
Vistamar - Maddie C.
135th Street - Elena U.
Roosevelt- Neema M.
Twain - Hannah K.
7th Street - Nina G.
CMA - Taylor H.
PVLD - Tessa S.
BGCLAH - Leonora M.
BGCLAH San Pedro - Luke S.
USC - Taylor W.
Harry Bridges - Mitchell T.

At Large Members
Diamond Naga S.
Matthew M.
Austin D.
Kaitlan T.
Ashley T.

PressFriends Expert Advisory Board
Joe Condon, EdD, served as a school district superintendent in Los Angeles County for more than 17 years after working as a school principal and district administrator in Orange County school districts for more than 20 years.  In retirement, Joe is an executive coach for superintendents and school districts as well as a trainer of superintendents in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Joe has been has served as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and California State University, Dominquez Hills and remains involved with the Association of California School Administrators by training future personnel administrators.

Steve Zuckerman is a City Councilman of the City of Rolling Hills Estates.  He is also a member of the West Los Angeles Vector Control Board, a member of the Regional Law Enforcement Committee, board member of the LA Sanitation District, and member of the City Council Audit and Budget Committee. Steve is president of a real estate holding company.  He graduated from the University of Oregon and pursued graduate studies at the University of Hawaii.  He also has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Gail Tierney. Gail Tierney retired from working over thirty years as the Senior Deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisors Dana and Don Knabe. Gail has a B.S. in business administration and taught school for 10 years.  During her thirty years as Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisors Dana and Knabe, her assignments included the Commission for Women (30 years), Education (30 years), Arts and Cultural Deputy (25 years), Parks and Rec (18 years), Emergency Preparedness (14 years), and the County Library (15 years).

Laura Henry. Laura Henry is manager of the Younger Readers Department for the Palos Verdes Library District.

Antonio Camacho has dedicated over 38 years to education and is an LAUSD elementary school principal. In 2010, he was elected President of the Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE).  He has a BA in Liberal Studies from Cal State, Dominguez Hills an MA in Curriculum from Cal State, Dominguez Hills and an MS in Administration from Pepperdine University.

Susan Liberati, EdD, has been a teacher, assistant principal, director of curriculum, and assistant superintendent for 26 years in high performing school districts. She is the founder of Liberati & Associates.

Kiersten Darrow, PhD, is research curator for the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

PressFriends Executive Advisory Board
Nikki Ueda (Board Chair) earned a Bachelors in Social Ecology and a Bachelors in Psychology from the University of CA, Irvine.  Nikki also earned a Multiple Subjects teaching credential from CSUDH, and then later returned to CSUDH to earn an Education Specialist teaching credential and a Masters of Art in Special Education.  Nikki achieved National Board Certification for teachers in 2011.  Nikki has worked for Los Angeles Unified School District since 1986 and is now an Intensive Diagnostic Education Center teacher, using intensive programs to help students with specific learning disabilities learn to read. She has worked as a general education teacher and as a Special Education teacher and currently serves as her school's state testing coordinator and Academic English Mastery Program Facilitator. Nikki also works with a handful of specially trained LAUSD teachers who provide intensive instructional services to students after school hours. Nikki currently is a board member of the National Charity League, Palos Verdes chapter.

Debora Chan-Southwell is co-founder and executive director of PressFriends. She works for a major university and previously worked as an attorney, risk manager, and editor of a number of financial, legal and insurance periodicals.  Debora also volunteers with the PTSA, the City of Rolling Hills Estates Environmental Advisory Committee, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and the National Charity League. Debora has a B.A. from California State University, Northridge, a J.D. from the University of California, Davis, and a post-graduate diploma in Business Studies from the London School of Economics.  

Carl Southwell is co-founder of PressFriends, a member of its Advisory Board, and also volunteers as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Rolling Hills Estates and as Sea Ranger with the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Carl is president of InsureTech, Inc., a risk management consulting firm.  Carl holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from the University of Southern California.

Candice Foss is an independent researcher and consultant on all aspects of developmental delay, ASD, ADHD, speech and language disorders, social anxiety, PTSD, pre and perinatal shock, intergenerational trauma, and cutting edge therapies for recovery and healing. Candice has a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.  She is on the Board of the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation.

Elena Meroth earned a BS in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from University of Southern California. Upon graduating from UCB, Elena worked in the Petroleum Industry for over 10 years where she managed multi-million dollar environmental clean-up sites.  In 2006, Elena decided to take her engineering and business skills and start her own business as an independent State Farm Insurance Agent.  In addition to working full-time, Elena is active in National Charity League, a Girl Scout Leader, and a member of the PVP Chamber of Commerce.

Theresa Dawson holds a Masters in Speech Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University. She has over 20 years of experience in managing pediatric and adult catastrophic neurological cases, overseeing and coordinating multidisciplinary treatment teams and working with a variety of reimbursement entities in life care planning. She was a Certified Insurance Rehabilitation Specialist, Certified Case Manager and Certified Disability Management Specialist. Theresa has served on the Boards of the Southern California Brain Injury Foundation, Case Management Society of America, Pacific School PTA, Chadwick Parents Association and the National Charity League Manhattan-Hermosa Chapter.

Lauren Trainotti earned her Bachelor's of Science Degree at Northern Arizona University in Elementary Education.  Lauren also earned her adult education teaching credential from UCLA. For the past 15 years Lauren has loved teaching a parenting class with LAUSD in San Pedro. Lauren enjoys volunteering with Los Compadres, Brownies, PTA and Holy Trinity Church.

Maryann Siu