Leadership & Board of Directors

Catalyst Kids is operated by Catalyst Family Inc., which is overseen by the Board of Directors and a committed leadership team. The Catalyst Family Inc. Board of Directors provides foresight, oversight, and insight, ensuring the agency has adequate resources to advance our vision, mission, strategies, and goals.

Board of Directors

The Board’s oversight responsibility is to ensure the organization maintains program, administrative, fiscal, and contract compliance. The Board’s primary goal is to steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies and practices. To effectively carry out the work of the Board, the directors are expected to exhibit the personal characteristics of Integrity, Accountability, Informed Judgement, and Financial Literacy.

Arnel Torres

Arnel serves on the Board of Catalyst Family Inc. and volunteers with the Tracy Unified School District as a Science Olympiad coach and a reading program tutor. With over 30 years of financial services operations management experience, Arnel brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Board of Directors. Arnel has lived in Tracy since 1999 and has served on the Board of ARC San Joaquin, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities, since 1954.

Georgina Martinez

Georgina moved to California in 2015 and has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics as well as a master’s degree in Public Administration. She has worked in higher education for over 10 years and is currently in educational administration, focusing on government grants and finances. She utilizes her expertise in education to facilitate the Promise Program, which provides first-time college students free tuition and wrap-around services.

Michelle Massaro

Michelle’s son attended Catalyst Kids, from kindergarten through 6th grade. Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Sacramento State and works as a Health Physicist for the Department of Public Health. In this role, Michelle represents her branch at the annual State Scientist Day, showcasing the critical work performed by state scientists to protect public health and the environment. Additionally, Michelle is a freelance photographer, a dedicated volunteer and foster for local animal shelters, and serves as the Booster President for the Pleasant Grove High School music program.

Cherise Alexander

Cherise lives in Riverside and has worked as an Executive Assistant at Loma Linda University Medical Center for 10 years. She came to Catalyst Family Inc. after seeking care for her son who had special needs and refers to the support she received as the “best-kept secret.”

LaTisha Johnson-Neely

LaTisha attended Virginia State University and resides in Sunnyvale, CA. Belonging to the American Payroll Association, she has an extensive background in Payroll, and currently works as a Payroll Manager and Stock Administrator at XenoPort, Inc.

Ana Perez-Apodace

Ana Perez-Apodace

Ana has previous experience as a parent in our program and has been on the board since 2010. She has a degree in Administrative Computing from the University of Guadalajara and currently resides in the Bay Area, working in the Healthcare field.

Thomas Redmon

Thomas Redmon

After graduating from Saint Mary’s College of California and the University of California at Davis School of Law, Thomas served as a law clerk to Federal District Judge Phillip Wilkins from 1970 to 1971. Thomas then joined the Sacramento law firm of Wilke Fleury in 1971, where he became an associate, partner, and later managing partner. Wilke Fleury is currently the oldest law firm in Sacramento. Thomas specialized in business and business litigation, with a particular focus on healthcare law. Before his retirement in 2019, Thomas represented Catalyst Family Inc. and numerous other nonprofit organizations, handling business and legal matters throughout his career.

Jeff Cherniss

Jeff Cherniss

Jeff Cherniss has served as a CEO, COO and CFO for significant profit, nonprofit and ministry organizations in the Bay Area for 30+ years.

He appreciates the opportunity to help great organizations on boards including Catalyst Family. Jeff and Jean have 3 married children and 3 grandkids who have benefited from learning opportunities similar to those offered by Catalyst Family. He received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Thomas Chiaromonte

Thomas Chiaromonte

Tom holds degrees in Communicative Disorders and Child Development and a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education. With over 40 years of experience in child development, he has served as a special education teacher, preschool educator, and program coordinator. As the faculty lab school director at Fullerton College, Tom founded the Center for Early Childhood Collaboration and has provided consultation services internationally. A published researcher, Tom remains active in several early childhood organizations. Tom resides in Orange, CA, and is the father of two.

Leadership

Our leadership team drives the mission and values of Catalyst Kids, part of Catalyst Family Inc., and is at the heart of our organization to serve our communities and families. Each of our leaders brings a unique perspective and ability to the team to further company objectives.

Susan Dumars

President

Susan Dumars

President

Susan serves as the President and Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Catalyst Family Inc. Susan provides executive leadership for the organization, which serves children and families throughout California.

At an early age Susan knew she wanted a profession that centered around early childhood education and advocacy for the most vulnerable in California. Susan’s volunteerism and advocacy are both values that have been present throughout her personal and professional life. Susan served as a Board member at the state and local level and served for nine years as an Accreditation Commissioner of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Susan embraces her role as a lifelong learner, taking numerous Enneagram courses and recently completing an Enneagram & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion course. One of her many passions is to advocate for the equitable rights of all children and families, with special focus on foster youth. Susan’s other passions are the outdoors, traveling, and as an avid sports fan, she is a regular at SF Giants and 49er games.

One of Susan’s mottos is “change is good it’s the transition that is hard”. Her commitment to achieve and maintain quality programs, while being responsive to the changing needs of families, is well established in her current role as President of Catalyst Family Inc.

Eva Schulte

Chief Operating Officer

Eva Schulte

Chief Operating Officer

Eva is an accomplished executive with a deep commitment to enhancing the lives of others, she has spent her career as a successful revenue generator of new and sustainable business development, partnerships, and fundraising initiatives for multi-million-dollar nonprofit associations and national education organizations.

Ehab Saad

Vice President of Accounting and Finance

Ehab Saad

Vice President of Accounting and Finance

Ehab has held several executive positions in non-profit organizations, overseeing annual budgets exceeding $100 million. He currently serves as Vice President of Accounting and Finance at Catalyst Family Inc. and is an adjunct professor of Accounting at the University of California, Berkeley.

His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Science in Accounting. He holds the professional designations of Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM). Ehab is an active member of several prestigious professional bodies, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Ehab has contributed to the academic field with two international publications in top-tier journals:

“Assessing Probabilities of Financial Distress of Banks in UAE,” published in the International Journal of Managerial Finance, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2011.
“Analysis of Financial Crisis in UAE Financial Markets,” published in the International Research Journal of Finance & Economics (IRJFE), Issue 83, 2012.

Megan Vincent

Deputy Director of HR

Megan Vincent

Deputy Director of HR

Megan Vincent is the Deputy Director of Human Resources at Catalyst Family Inc. Megan oversees several areas of Human Resources, including Benefits, Leave of Absence, Worker’s Compensation, Payroll, Staffing, Employee Relations and the HRIS team. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from U.C. Davis and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.

Alison Michel-Hall

Deputy Director of Education

Alison Michel-Hall

Deputy Director of Education

Alison Michel-Hall has been working in the early childhood education field for over 35 years with 20 of those years being at Catalyst. She demonstrates a strong commitment to developmentally appropriate practices and has worked in multiple positions over the years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies. She currently holds a Life Children’s Center Supervisory Permit and is a graduate of Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC).

ElizaBeth Phillips

Deputy Director of Support Services

ElizaBeth Phillips

Deputy Director of Support Services

ElizaBeth Parker Phillips has been working in childcare, camps, and recreation programs for over 25 years. She holds master’s degrees in Early Childhood Education and Outdoor Therapeutic Recreation. ElizaBeth has been with Catalyst since 2006, working in various capacities to support program quality and implementation at camps, courts, and childcare centers.

Alissa Olivieri

Deputy Director of Center Operations

Alissa Olivieri

Deputy Director of Center Operations

Bio coming soon …